The GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital
Category A: Built: Less than $25 million (construction cost)
The earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince in 2010 exacerbated Haiti’s already high prevalence of tuberculosis by destroying the country’s health infrastructure and interrupting patient treatments. This precipitated an outbreak of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a highly contagious disease that requires treatment lasting up to 24 months. Patients remain infectious for the first 2-6 months of their treatment regimen, during which time they need to be hospitalized in isolation to prevent the spread of the disease.
Both infection control and patient trauma—from extended seclusion and because of the severe side effects of medication (which can include blindness, deafness, and emotional instability)—were driving factors in the design of the Tuberculosis Hospital for Les Centres GHESKIO. The new GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital replaced the previously destroyed facility at Signeau, providing TB patients an effective and dignified place to stay for the duration of their long-term treatment. Simple but effective methods of passive ventilation and infection control were used to reduce in-hospital transmission of TB in this high-risk population, as well as reduce energy costs for the facility.
"This building was lauded for being of its place—responding to both the culture and the climate. It shows a sensitivity to the patients with an organization of rooms and courtyards that reaffirm hope and healing as well as serving to build community." ~ Jury comment
How this project improves patient healthcare
The GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital’s central feature is its interior courtyard, where patients spend much of their stay. Flower and tree beds bring color, shade, and seating to the space. A small fish pond provides a tranquil place to think and rest beneath the shade. Several covered common spaces open into this courtyard for individual and group leisure activities. Factoring in the hospital’s community and climate contexts, we built exterior corridors and outdoor consultation patios that diminish risk for healthcare workers and staff by decreasing exposure to airborne TB bacteria. Bamboo screens create visual privacy for the outdoor consultation spaces that line patient rooms. Bougainvillea vines have begun growing over these screens, covering the bamboo with additional greenery. Crowning the central opening is the hospital’s distinct woven metal cornice, in panels painted several shades of green. The slanted roof captures cross-breeze circulation that effectively cools down rooms below.
