Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Architecture Dean Prof. Dr. Uğur Ulaş Dağlı, made a statement in relation to the Pandemic Hospital. Prof. Dr. Dağlı said the following in her statement:
“The Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ministry of Health, has taken the first steps for the new Pandemic Hospital; with an announcement that the preliminary project of the hospital is being prepared and the building is aimed to be completed in 45 days. In the press release made by the TRNC Ministry of Health, the Pandemic Hospital is planned to be constructed on the land of the Nicosia Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Public Hospital, and is planned to have a total of 92 rooms, 182 beds, and a closed area of 6 thousand square meters, together with an emergency room, intensive care, operating room, tomography and laboratory service.
The preparation of an architectural project requires a serious process; especially if this is a hospital project, successful results can be achieved when different disciplines work together. In this sense, the design and implementation of the hospital project must be handled with many stakeholders such as doctors, architects, interior designers, engineers and city planners.
In the statement, answers to many questions regarding the hospital project should be urgently given. How was the hospital project designed in such a short time? Who was involved in the design of the project? Besides these questions, the most important question is; what is the main idea of the project? Is it a design for a possible situation that will serve the situation we are in and will emerge in a short time depending on COVID-19; Or is it a design to be prepared for any future pandemic situation?
First, if the hospital is to be built for the situation we are in today, the determination of the existing and empty buildings and emergency transformation projects should be realized. This can be achieved by bringing together all the disciplines associated with the profession of architecture and making quick decisions. Building a new building fast means putting to work many people in an unprotected project. This endangers public health. In this sense, practical and fast solutions should be produced. The best example of this is the conversion of the 87-acre exhibition building, which was put into service in London this month and transformed into NHS Nightingale Pandemic Hospital in 9 days. The hospital, which was put into service with 350 fully equipped beds, has the opportunity to expand to 4,000 beds. It may be much faster and easier to make a much smaller sample of this in our country.
The second one should be a design that will be produced with flexible solutions that will easily adapt to the possible pandemic situation, as it will be a long-term project. It should have a flexible design that can easily be converted in any pandemic situation, with temporary accommodation for healthcare professionals. Here, analysis of the connection with cities and climatic factors is as important as the organization of the health locations. Whatever purpose it will serve in this sense, hospital design should be made with the contribution of experts. If we focus a little on how the fire occurred that happened here recently, we have learned that decisions made daily and distant from the experts in the division of rooms is an important factor in the cause of fires. If the division of a room causes a big fire; a hospital building that is far from being scientific and whose goals are not clearly set, made with daily decisions, can take on a function that is far from social benefit. In this sense, if there is a public health issue, we need to act with scientific facts on this matter as required. ”
