THE VENTILATOR
EMERGENCY PATIENT INTERFACE
Class: Facilities for Health Workshop: Clinical Red
Professor: Ulysses Sean Vance
Semester: Spring 2020
Program: Healthcare Facility
Location: 1701 N 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world, it is clear that we must be better prepared to handle these situations. An opportunity exists to transform Weiss Hall into a catalyst for this change. This proposal seeks to repurpose Weiss Hall’s basement and first floor into a micro-hospital for the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of users. It seeks to propose its use for temporary quarantine while still allowing for classes to continue to be held simultaneously. In addition, it seeks to transform the building into a large-scale air filter, cleaning the air not only in the facility but also around it. Users can interact with this intervention upon their arrival. As one approaches the micro-hospital, they can either enter via one of several elevators designated as testing stalls, or via the visitor/staff elevator, which allows for changing into protective equipment as one enters, a donning and doffing vestibule. As one is tested, they are either admitted and escorted to the quarantine areas if they test positive or rejected entry if they test negative.
Patients admitted to the hospital will find themselves in an inviting environment flooded with fresh air and natural light, supporting their immune systems and overall well-being. Natural light is very important for fighting COVID-19 in particular as the virus is known to not survive well in sunlight. Hospital beds within the space fit into existing walls. At the center of each quarantine room is a nurses’ station and an intensive care unit, allowing for easy visibility between nurses and patients and optimal circulation. Moreover, air is brought through operable louvers on the south and east facades, then through a HEPA filter and an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation unit for disinfection, and then sent back out through a shaft proposed to be cut into the core of the tower, ultimately transforming Weiss Hall into a large-scale ventilator.
BUILDING SECTION: PROGRAM
BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN
BASEMENT HVAC PLAN
WAITING ROOM
QUARANTINE TREATMENT AREA B