A Transformation of Helsingborg Hospital

Abstract

Helsingborg Hospital, built in 1975, will in the upcoming years be replaced by a new hospital outside of the city. The existing structure, a massive concrete structure of brutalist style, faces an uncertain future: demolition or transformation. At the same time, Sweden is facing a persistent housing shortage, while the construction industry accounts for a significant share of Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions. The arguments for reusing what is already built are therefore strong. Beyond the environmental aspects, the hospital represents an example of unique brutalist architectural heritage and is a prominent landmark in the city of Helsingborg. This thesis investigates how Helsingborg Hospital can be transformed into housing while preserving the architectural identity of the existing structure. The hospital, often criticized for its raw appearance, presents several challenges for residential use, including monumental scale, limited daylight, and material monotony. With Helsingborg Hospital as a case study, the thesis combines the adaptive reuse approach of aemulatio and theories on architectural atmosphere and residential quality to analyze qualities of the existing building and to develop design strategies for its transformation. The result is a design proposal that explores how the hospital’s institutional character can be reinterpreted and transformed into a unique residential environment with mediated scale, sufficient daylight, and variation in materiality. This thesis challenges the skepticism often directed toward brutalist buildings from the 1960s and 70s, and argues that these buildings possess potential for adaptive reuse into unique living environments where new and old is merged.