In the light of emergency; a proposal for post-covid primary care center in Vadstena

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic has had a profound impact on the healthcare industry, leading to the rapid transformation of healthcare systems worldwide. In 2021, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies noted that the resilience of healthcare systems was put to the test during the pandemic. One key area that underwent significant changes was the design of healthcare buildings. In response to the pandemic, many healthcare centers implemented temporary architectural changes to accommodate increased patient capacity while also preventing the spread of disease among patients and staff. In countries such as Sweden, where there is a shortage of medical personnel, the importance of designing safe spaces for treatment is particularly important as the spread of disease among staff can negatively impact the functioning of healthcare centers.[2] This thesis aims to investigate the challenges and issues associated with designing primary care centers in the post-pandemic era, with a focus on air transmittable diseases and specifically within the context of the Swedish healthcare system. The research will focus on the role of architecture in preventing the spread of air transmittable disease based on the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and will explore the use of new technologies, such as virtual healthcare, in primary care center design. The thesis will employ a prototyping methodology, which will involve the examination of reference projects, literature, and scientific studies as well as the interviews. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify alternative design strategies for primary care centers in Sweden that can help to create safe environments for patients and staff and increase the resilience of the primary care centers during future outbreaks or seasonal transmissible diseases.