Building sustainability assessment: the case of hospital buildings

Abstract

The hospital project contains different aspects from the most common projects of residential, office or service buildings. Designing a hospital environment is based in a number of criteria related to the satisfaction and well being of the working team, the patient and the administrators. This kind of project has a strong social responsibility and impact on the city. Mostly due to various design requirements, these buildings are not designed and operated in a sustainable way. Based on this context it is important to study the best practices of a sustainable hospital design that should be taken into account in the design phase (to support the decision to adopt solutions that contribute to the building sustainability) and lifetime operation (supporting users and managers for the operation and equipment maintenance at an high level of efficiency). This paper will discuss the importance of the hospital buildings for the sustainable construction and will present some indicators that could support the sustainable design, operation and maintenance of a hospital building.