Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis

The innovative and compact new Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis replaces two old hospital buildings. The new hospital is a building that exudes connectivity, both internally and externally. EGM architects translated this into a design in which transparency, connection and the (history of the) city of Delft play a major role.

Ascepius Rod
The design of the hospital reveals similarities with the shape of the Rod of Asclepius - the symbol for medicine. The departments ‘meander’ around a central axis, which on all floors connects the different parts of the building. As a result all departments are easy accessible.

Many hospitals have double-loaded corridor systems, which means that each corridor receives light from one side only. By contrast, the central corridor and the departments of the Reinier de Graaf receive light from all sides. If not from the side, then from above or through rooms with translucent walls and doors.’

Healing environment
The corridors, the 250 single rooms and the multi-occupant rooms all flooded with daylight are designed from the perspectives of a healing environment. Daylight reduces stress, which is especially beneficial in a place where people don’t feel at ease.

Recognizable themes from the service area
In order to make everyone feel at home, the design of the six-floor ‘connected hospital’ reflects the region’s culture: the town of Delft and neighbouring Westland area both inside and outside. With abstract images of the Westland glasshouses and flowers on the walls, ceramic tiles in the central corridors, Delft-blue elements in the children’s and maternity ward, and colours from the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, Delft’s most famous painter, throughout the hospital.

Historic Delft as inspiration
The characteristic façade of the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis connects the modern hospital building with the old city of Delft, world-famous for its canal brick-houses and ceramics. Scale, rhythm, coloring and the use of ceramic materials in exterior and interior are a contemporary translation of the typical Dutch brick-architecture and a subtle reference to the Dutch master paintings.

EGM