Located on a 14-acre site, the 205,000-square-foot, 300-bed Mirebelais Hospital provides primary care services to about 185,000 people in Mirebelais and two nearby communities and secondary and tertiary care for patients from a much wider area. Partners In Health asked Copley Wolff Design Group to provide landscape architectural consulting services for the National Teaching Hospital in Mirebelais, the first of its kind in Haiti.
CWDG traveled to Haiti to become familiar with the new hospital and its site, to gain knowledge of available plant materials, and to visit other medical facilities in the area in order to obtain a sense of what design approach should be taken. CWDG used the initial design guidelines completed by URS of Tampa, FL and the knowledge gained during the site visit to develop a final design and installation plan.
“I can’t tell you how much it means to me for our beautiful hospital to have beautiful grounds,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, physician and co-founder of Partners in Health. “I am profoundly grateful to [CWDG] for this work, for [their] time, and for what it will mean to our staff and our patients to give and receive care in dignified and lovely surroundings. Thanks to everyone for making this possible.”
Gardens and courtyards are an integral part of the design to not only provide efficient patient flow and quiet areas of respite, but also to encourage the flow of natural ventilation for cooling as well as to prevent the transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne diseases. The overall outcome is a beautiful and serene landscape that is inviting to both patients and visitors from near and far.
Story via CWDG; all photos c/o Partners in Health.
