Designing an Upside-Down, Hurricane-Proof Hospital for New Orleans

[cbayer]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-14/to-design-a-hurricane-proof-new-orleans-hospital-think-upside-down

By Belinda Lanks August 14, 2014


Project Legacy Rendering
Courtesy U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

When a hurricane hits land, hospitals are some of the most vulnerable structures. A power outage can send entire medical facilities into critical condition, as patients who depend on machines are placed at risk and incoming patients are turned away at the door. The result can be deadly.

No other U.S. city understands the consequences better than New Orleans. In a Louisiana government report, researchers found that at least 70 hospital patients died during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Another 57 bodies were recovered from hospitals in the days following the hurricane, indicating that their storm-related deaths occurred inside hospitals. Seven of the city’s 16 hospitals were out of commission for more than two years, and some were deemed beyond repair.

One of those wrecked hospitals, a Veteran Affairs facility, is now being rebuilt on another campus in downtown New Orleans—and this time it has been designed for resiliency in the face of another hurricane. The plan quite literally overturns the conventional organization of hospitals, moving the emergency room and essential utilities above the 20-foot flood line and filling lower levels with less mission-critical features.

The 1.6 million-square-foot VA hospital, dubbed Project Legacy, is designed to set a new benchmark for storm preparedness. In the event of flooding, patient rooms, the power plant, and even the kitchen would remain dry and operational, while the reception area and administrative offices might be at risk.

more at link

[MADem]

1. I read about this flip concept in the weeks after Katrina--glad to see they're doing it! nt

[cbayer]

2. I was in a hospital in NOLA during Katrina, and what they are doing here is fantastic.

Only 3 out of over 20 hospitals in New Orleans were able to continue functioning during the crisis. Generators on the ground floors and lack of elevated helicopter pads were two of the biggest problems. Moving things up makes an amazing amount of sense.