Amsterdam Hospital Architecture of the 19th Century

66 Pages·2015·12.07 MB·English

Amsterdam Hospital Architecture
th
19
of the Century
Care Ideology as a Precedent for the Future
P1 Research Report
Studio: Heritage and Architecture Student: RFA Stravers
Project: MSc3 - Binnengasthuis - Amsterdam Student nr.: 1216430
Tutors: Lidwine Spoormans E-mail: [email protected]
Wido Quist Phone nr.: 06-44042798
rd
3 rule of the Librarians of Time and Space:
“Do not interfere with the nature of causality.”
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Preface
When I chose the studio Heritage In my search of finding my way to motivation to display your identity
and Architecture it was because I shape my academic development I is to show the joy of the creative
believe a big part of the building eventually found a path in my roots. process. I believe a lot of the public
task of the future will concern As a person this may well be appreciation of the old originates,
the reuse of the existing built the reason can’t identify myself maybe even unconsciously, of the
environment. Furthermore I believe with modernism as I feel it lacks recognition of the craft. Of course
that the older buildings have elements that the human soul there is also beauty in simplicity and
qualities worth preserving, but I needs, regardless of their good elegance, often less is indeed more,
think this is unlikely to be successful intentions towards improving the but I don’t believe on is necessarily
if a purely conservative attitude society. I just believe they were more ‘enlightened’ than the other.
is taken. Change is inevitable misguided in certain aspects due What is worth more preserving
and conservation for the sake of to misunderstanding of the basic than the joy found in outstanding
conservation will ultimately lead to human needs. The feeling of identity creations? Hence I believe I found
the demise of the value and quality it is vital and I believe preserving and my future in the world of heritage.
entailed, which should have lived on. progressing with our heritage plays
an important role into that feeling. Ruben Stravers
This studio also gave me the Yet idealism made them and every Master Student Heritage & Architecture,
opportunity to work on the city other notable architect, master TU Delft, April 2015
of Amsterdam. The affinity I have builder or craftsman in history shape
with this city and history in general, their creations.
stems from my parents. My mother Adolf Loos once wrote that if he
researches the history of my family would ask a shoemaker to make him
and my father was a restoration simple shoes without ‘ornament’ for
carpenter before his untimely death the same price as a decorated one,
only four years after his retirement. the shoe maker would be unhappy,
His work often revolved around because it would deprive the
Amsterdam which gave me access shoemaker of his joy of the craft. He
to the field of heritage from an could sympathize with this notion,
early age, admiring the craft and but only because he prided himself
the sense of pride of making your being above the shoemaker as he
own creations. During my research I was someone less developed than
ended up researching a hospital, the he was (Loos, A. 1982). To me that
hospital where I was born in. is misguided arrogance because the
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Content
Preface 3 Chapter III - Threads of Time 51
• Green, Urban Structure & Scale 52
Introduction 7 • Care Space Typology 54
• Care Organization 56
Chapter I - The Setup 9 • Final thoughts 62
• Definitions 10
• Research Framework 12 Bibliography 64
• 19th Century Hospitals of Amsterdam 14
• Collections of Care 16
• Elementary Hospital Assembly 18
• Analysis Criteria 20
Chapter II - Places of Care 23
• Prinsengrachtziekenhuis 24
• Kraamkliniek - Binnengasthuis 28
• Vrouwenverband - Binnengasthuis 30
• Klinisch Ziekenhuis - Binnengasthuis 34
• Hoofdgebouw & Ziekengebouw - 38
Burgerziekenhuis
• Tweede Chirurgische Kliniek 44
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Introduction
The Binnengasthuis area is one of further demolition of the buildings
the oldest sites of Amsterdam dating on the site and offered an opening
back to the Middle Ages and is part into reusing the remaining existing
of the Unesco World Heritage buffer buildings for the future.
zone surrounding the 17th century
canal ring. This report concerns the first part
It started as a collection of two of the graduation studio Heritage
nunneries, which were transformed & Architecture. It consist of
into guest houses during the thematic research and a site specific
Alteration of 1578. These guest analysis as a tool to formulate the
houses were mostly meant to harbor conditions of a possible graduation
the poor and the weak as well as design proposal involving the
offering a place to stay for visiting Binnengasthuis terrain.
travelers. The conditions were poor My tutors in this process have been
and the people of Amsterdam were Lidwine Spoormans for Architecture,
speaking of ‘Gasthuisvrees’, because Wido Quist for Building Technology
they feared to end up in that place. and Sara Stroux as research mentor.
When medical sciences started to
develop and with it the modern In the next chapter the research
hospital became into being, the frame will be discussed as to what
Binnengasthuis was in dire need makes this part of an academic
of improvement. This resulted into curriculum. This is preceded by
a major redevelopment over the definitions that will be used in this
course of several decades of the report. If a definition is subject to
area during the second part of the other interpretations and needs
19th century. This removed most of nuance, this will be elaborated upon
the built traces of the old situation. during the relevant subject.
Nowadays the site has been After this defense an exploration on
abandoned by the hospital as it the topic will commence with a broad
moved to the edge of the city in overview so a frame of relevance can
the 1980s. When the University of be composed, which allows to give a
Amsterdam moved in they planned direction to the design quarters later
to demolish and rebuilt several part in the graduation track.
of the area. Several of these plans After the framework has been
were carried out and some buildings established, deepening of the
were (partly) lost. During the subject matter will take place after,
demolition, citizens became aware containing an assessment combined
what was happening and protested with interpretations of the findings.
fiercely. This blocked plans involving
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Chapter I
The Setup
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Definitions
Semantics of Terms
• Cultural continuity • Care • Pavilion system • Calorifere
Can be described as a process over Care is described by the Oxford A system exists in multiple forms as it An early version of a central heating
time being the essential driving force Dictionary as: “to protect someone is subject to several interpretations. system. Several version of this
behind the development of a place. or something and provide the things A true pavilion hospital has light and system exists, so the exact workings
Form and execution over time may they need, especially someone who from air from at least two sides of a may vary. It could provide hot water
differ, but the underlying ideas and is young, old, or ill”. To provide clarity ward. Secondly the rooms are to be and warm air.
the spirit remain true to the cultural for this report, when the word Care isolated from one another, with no
values that define the place. The is used, this assumes exclusion of people passing through that do not
cultural values are inherently subject the elements that are direct medical have to be there.
to change over time, but they always interventions on the human body,
stay within the same realm of which mostly involves surgery, but • Room vs Ward
thinking and theme they originated also diagnostics performed before The difference between the two is
from. admission to the hospital. decided by the amount of people
housed in a space. In principle, a
• Gasthuis • Healing environment room is meant to house one person.
A gasthuis or ‘guest house’ was The healing environment is the If two persons, often the staff,
a place that provided a place for environment in which a patient are using the same type of room
people that had nowhere to stay. is supplied with the essential together, we speak of a room as well.
This could be the poor, the ill or requirement needed to guide When neither of these conditions
passing travelers. If they were the healing process, but also are true we speak of a ward. This
providing any way of healing it was encompassed additional provisions distinction is made because two
on a spiritual basis and rarely by to that are not necessarily part of the person wards exist as well.
surgical intervention. direct medical process, but enhance
the patients comfort and can lead to • p.p.m2
• Modern hospital a faster recovery. Patients per square meter. A term
This term involves hospitals after used to describe the density of
the time ‘hospitals’ started to • Corridor system patients in a room or ward that is
become a place of physical healing The classical system for structuring dedicated as housing space for the
due to scientific medical advances, the access of rooms within a patients. It offers a parametrically
which began to dictate the healing building with a corridor. This was a component towards the intimacy
process. Hospitals of current times common system in the 19th century gradient experienced in the space.
are inherently modern according to and default for larger buildings. A When this unit is used to describe
this definition as well, but the term corridor building can have rooms on the space for personnel it always
‘modern hospital’ doesn’t refer to both sides of the corridor, but this is describes their sleeping quarters,
them in particular. Modern can be not required. not the staff rooms.
taken as modern at the time of the
hospitals conception and not as
what is ‘modern’ currently.
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