New North Heart strengthens care infrastructure in northern Limburg (B)

Two crucial construction projects are currently taking place on the grounds of North Heart Mary Hospital. A new rehabilitation and MS center is being built and, in parallel, the hospital is being expanded with a new surgical day center. At the same time, care at the existing Maria Hospital must not be disrupted. In short, a project full of challenges. We speak to Dirk Van Gorp, director of facility services at Noorderhart.

The new North Heart was created after a merger between the existing Maria Hospital and the rehabilitation and MS center in Pelt. "Both locations are 5 kilometers apart and are now being merged at the Maria Hospital location," Van Gorp says. "The reason was actually the outdated infrastructure of the rehabilitation and MS center. The center was built in the 1970s and no longer met today's requirements. Replacement new construction was actually not an option. It turned out to be much more interesting to merge it with the Maria Hospital so that we could offer patients total care from one location. Hospital admissions and rehabilitation will soon fit together better." In turn, the Maria Hospital needed additional space for the growing number of day treatments. So simultaneous plans were made for the construction of a surgical day center.

Although they are two separate construction projects, they were tendered in parallel as one contract. A deliberate choice, according to Van Gorp. "The two buildings are adjacent to the rear of the Maria Hospital and to each other. Site engineering is not feasible to pull the projects apart. We will also tender the techniques and finishing as one unit. As far as structural work is concerned, the projects have been in progress since November 2023, and the goal is to have them wind and watertight by mid-2025. Then the technology will be installed and the finishing work will begin so that the entire project can be commissioned by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Construction work is progressing well. At the rehabilitation and MS center, several walls have already been erected in concrete, while at the surgical day center the contractor has started excavating the foundation. Because the new building is directly adjacent to the existing hospital, many utilities have already been relocated during the preparatory phase. Part of this phase also included expanding the parking lot by 295 parking spaces. These have been in use since the beginning of April."

The project is full of challenges, according to Van Gorp. "That already starts with the fact that two organizations will be merged. This also presents the necessary challenges on a technical level to link the new building to the existing building. Furthermore, many sustainability elements will be included in the buildings. That makes it technically quite complex. For example, the new building will soon be CO2 neutral in its operation. So that means heat/cold storage in the ground, PV panels on the roof and recovery of rainwater for flushing the toilets." Van Gorp says that wind turbines were even considered at the site, but that ultimately proved unfeasible because of its location near a residential area and height restrictions. That didn't help the efficiency.

Directly behind the existing hospital, the surgical day center will be built with four operating rooms and a locomotor and cardiac rehabilitation room. In addition, the building will house a psychiatric day hospital, a pain center and the center for oral, maxillofacial and maxillofacial surgery. The rehabilitation and MS center will be positioned a little further down the site, but will of course be accessible from the hospital via a connecting corridor, on which a new bistro will be located. "The challenge in the design was mainly to connect the buildings without making it a maze," says Van Gorp. "And we believe we have succeeded in that. For visitors and patients, it will soon be very clear how to reach the different parts of the building. A lot of attention has been paid to 'wayfinding'. From the entrance hall you can either go straight to the rehabilitation and MS center or to the surgical day center, each time ending up in the center of those buildings. The internal logistics are also separated from patient traffic on level minus 1."

Typical of the rehabilitation and MS center are the two large indoor gardens. "This way, patients can still enjoy the outdoors in a safe environment," Van Gorp explains. "It also ensures that there is an optimal view of the corridors from the nursing station. Handy for night shifts because the lighting is controlled based on presence. The building is further accessible for rehabilitants with few obstacles. For example, they do not have to use elevators. Outpatients coming from outside have direct access to the large rehabilitation hall through a separate entrance. The rehabilitation hall is further equipped with shed roofs, positioned on the north side. This allows plenty of daylight in, but keeps the heating down." On all fronts, then, a well thought-out design that is executed in a fairly traditional manner in terms of the structural shell. "We believe that a concrete structure with a facing brick is a future-proof choice. It offers a very long lifespan. It should be added that we choose large spans so that in terms of layout and infill we are reasonably flexible in the long term." 

With the construction of the rehabilitation and MS center and the new surgical day center, the North Heart grows by 23,000 m2 to 57,000 m2. "We believe that with this expansion and amalgamation we are significantly strengthening the healthcare infrastructure in North Limburg." 

Client and caregiver:
Noorderhart VZW

Architect:
M4 architects and engineers from Wetteren

Engineer stability:
Study bureau De Klerck engineering from Bruges

Contractor:
TM Vanderstraeten-Houben

Installations Advisor:
Study bureau De Klerck engineering from Bruges

Total building area:
23.000 m²

Construction time:

- Architect selection: 2020 

- Start of new construction: November 2023

- Completion closed shell construction: July 2025

- Planned commissioning: January 2027

Capacity: 

- total: 120 beds for rehabilitation and MS 

- 4 operating rooms with stay day surgery

- various day treatment services