11-2014 Healthy Hospital Design and Water Supply – the case of Kolandoto Hospital in Tanzania

Researchers: Annika Danielsson, Andreas Berg and Daniel Kallus.

Two master theses, one architectural and one engineering, have been conducted during the spring of 2015 with the joint purpose of investigating the built environment and the infrastructure at a hospital in Tanzania, as well as the possibility of improving these areas within an international aid project.

The built environment and the infrastructure at some hospitals in emerging contexts are inadequate for guaranteeing the human right to health, which includes the access to quality healthcare in an environment free from factors causing illness or poor health. This is the case at Kolandoto Hospital in Tanzania. The hospital has scarce resources in terms of personnel, money, material, potable water, power supply, and adequate spaces for healing free from risks of errors, delays and infections. Possible help to counteract this problem might come from within the international development sector as aid. However, all aid projects involves issues and challenges, such as donor influence, aid dependency and lack of recipient ownership. To prevent this, the Sida frame organization Forum Syd has switched their policy from a need-based aid approach to focus more towards aid for human rights. Instead of working with improving fundamental needs, attention is given to demanding governmental support and responsibility.

The purpose of the architectural master thesis was to explore how an architect can apply the concept of a sustainable and healthy hospital design in the international development sector by taking different roles in a concrete development project. The goal was to show feasible designs for people’s health, for a healthy environment and for a healthy approach to development. The purpose of the engineering master thesis was to discuss and evaluate the issues associated with donor influence, dependency and ownership in connection to engineering aid work.

Both theses utilized the Healthy Hospital project as a case study for their research. Healthy Hospital is an aid project carried out as a collaboration between tKolandoto Hospital and three Swedish non-governmental organizations. The Healthy Hospital project is divided into two phases. During the first phase, a full survey of the hospital’s built environment and infrastructure was carried out together with some short term improvements. In the second phase, the suggestions made in the survey report are intended to be implemented in order to promote future development of the hospital.

Three scales for an architect to approach the project in different roles was identified in the architectural master thesis. In each scale a design proposal was developed through an immersive design process on site in Kolandoto and in close collaboration with the hospital management. The engineering master thesis reached the conclusion that a more thorough planning of phase two could allow for the hospital management to be more included, increase ownership and therefore decrease aid dependency. Furthermore, it suggests that need-based aid can be used to strengthen human rights.

Download the PDFs:

ARQ 11-2014_HealthyHospitalKolandoto_Rapport 1 av 2_2015

ARQ 11-2014_HealthyHospitalKolandoto_Rapport 2 av 2_2015