Bahrain

Royal Maternity Hospital

press release

Middle East Manager Project Director Head of Communications

Patrick Mineur, Architect, Civil Engineer
www.groupe-6.com
patrick.mineur@groupe-6.com
T +973 17 38 23 12
Dream Tower 1, 25th floor
Sanabis, Kingdom of Bahrain
Antoine Buisseret, architect
antoine.buisseret@groupe-6.com
T + 33 1 53 17 96 62
94, avenue Ledru-Rollin
75011 Paris
Laurence Gueret-Plard
laurence.gueret-plard@groupe-6.com
T + 33 1 53 17 96 61
94, avenue Ledru-Rollin
75011 Paris
01 Summary

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital

n Project synopsis p. 2

n Introduction p. 3

n Royal Matrenity Hospital p. 3

n Illustrations p. 6

n Groupe-6 : company profile p. 7

n Project Director p. 8

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

02 Project synopsis

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital / Synopsis

Operation : Royal Maternity Hospital, Bahrain

Project type : International competition

Client : Venture Capital Bank

Project Managemt : HAJ

Design team :

General contractor (lead consultant) : GSE

Architect : Groupe-6

Interior design : JP Nuel

Lansdscape : Gustafson-Porter
Engineering : AES

Area : 35 000 sqm

Calendar : Competition 2010

Building cost : 70 M$ (value 2010)

Hospital Build Awards 2011 / Winner of the Best Hospital Design (Futur)
www.hospitalbuild-me.com/MediaZone/News-List/ShowNews1/

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

03 Introduction

Architectural Concept / Vision & Inspiration

The conception of the Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital is based on three essential design principals
which have formed the foundation of our proposal for this project.

n Determine an architectural expression for the building which is resolutely innovative and
contemporary but at the same time discrete and in harmony with the surrounding landscape and
environment.

n Create a sequence of beautiful internal spaces and internal gardens which will provoke a sense
of calm, well-being and seclusion for the mothers to be and their families.

n Propose a building with a medical organisation and layout permitting the highest level of care for
the occupants of this project and the future phases.

We have developped a striking governing element for this project which enables us to clearly
embrace these three design principals. This element is an oversailing sculptural roof which will
influence the project in many aspects.

The roof in its form expresses a Dune landscape with openings and depressions allowing the
creation of oasis gardens in this landscape. The roof will oversail the building and parking to protect
them from the sun and sand storms. The strong silhouette of the roof will give the project its
innovative architectural identity. Technical spaces and unsightly plant rooms will be hidden under
the undulations permitting the building to offer a pure and uncompromising form. The roof surface
will be perforated with an abstract arabic motif to allow light and air to penetrate the building where
required. The environmental role played by the roof will be very significant. Solar protection and
using air flow generated between the roof snell and the building blocks to cool will significantly
reduce the energy consumption of the project. Finaly we envisage the underside of the roof as a
precious decorated surface allowing us to create a unique ambience for this project particularly
enhancing the primary courtyard and garden spaces.

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

04 Sense of place &
Sustainability

The project is organised around three eliptical internal gardens each with a different character.
These gardens will contribute to a sense of calm, well-being and security for visitors and patients
when they enter the project. The landscaping and interior design of the building should transform
the feeling of being in a hospital into a sense of being in an elegant hotel of luxury domestic
environment. The medical functions of the building have been organised around these three garden
volumes and their attendant, bedroom accomodated permitting a highly efficient operational layout
thus maximising the heath and security of the mothers and babies.

These spaces should be a reflection of how Bahrain and the hospital views itself as a place and
a statement of how it wishes to be seen by the outside world. Landscaped spaces can be both
comfortable and familiar to the users of these places; an environment they will want to pass through,
inhabit and use, but also through the character of their features, create an identity for the new Royal
Maternity Hospital as a distinctive national and international institution.

Sustainability

A maternity is by essence a building that looks toward the future. Therefore, sustainability has
been integrated as the base of our conception of the Royal Maternity of Bahrain. It has guided the
architectural scheme, in order to exceed the highest standard of comfort while saving energy. Our
approach on sustainability is based on 4 main points:

n The Development of a bioclimatic building, based on the conception of passive systems for the
comfort of the user;

n The use of reliable cutting-edge active equipment;

n The use of renewable energy;

n The choice of ecological materials.

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

05 General organisation

Organisation / Innovation & Adaptability

The project is spread over two levels with the majority of the reception and principal medical services
being situated on the ground floor with simple and efficiently proximate relationships between the
critical medical units. This level is organised around a central garden with reception areas and
the day care unit fronting onto this prestigious space. The medical services such as emergency,
operating bloc, radiology and imagery are discretly situated behind the reception spaces and are
organised around smaller internal gardens.

The first floor level is dedicated to the bedroom accomodation with associated essential medical
back up services. The bedrooms have been divided into two wings each organised around a more
intimate eliptical garden. The royal wing is compsed of 12 bedroom suites each with an inward
looking view to the garden. The eliptical form of the space will soften the direct views from one
facade to another across the garden and the landscaping of the gardens is conceived to prohibit
direct views from one bedroom to another.

Statification of activites

The different departments are organized according the medical and logistical process to provide
synergy and efficiency between them. The external, medical and logistical activities are regrouped
at the groundfloor around the central courtyard which provide welcome and public spaces. Level 1
is dedicated for the private and residential areas.

Flexibility

The general arrangement of the project is designed to integrate flexibility and future extensions
around the central core of the building. The hospital will then gradually expand into the wider
spectrum of services relating to womens healthcare such as gynecology, reconstructive/cosmetic
surgery, pediatric services, neuroscience services and oncology.

The global canopy provides the continuity of the whole and keep space provision or expansion of
the different components on 3 directions:
n Technical Platform can grow on the north-side of the building; especially Imaging Department
which need to integrate the evolutions of new imaging technologies.
n External and diagnostic activities can expand on the West side and can connect with future health
programme developpement keeping the continuity of the medical and logistical support.
n Logistics and services on the East side can also expand without removing the main core
arrangement.

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

06 Illustrations

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

07 Groupe-6
company profile

Frances leading architectural company, with some 180 employees from 15 different nationalities,
Groupe-6 is a multi-disciplinary structure made up of architects, urban planners, interior designers,
landscape designers, site mangers and economists.

For 30 years now, Groupe-6 has been designing complex, large-scale projects that fall in line
with their flawless aesthetic approach and optimal functionality, keeping within the budget and
deadlines given.

Groupe-6 is a flexible, multi-disciplinary architectural agency, which can adapt to the wide range of
requests it receives from its clients and contractors. It has expertise in projects of different scales
and proposes its savoir-faire in sectors of activity ranging from retail, healthcare, research and
education, sport and leisure, culture, and finally, urban planning.

In the interests of its client and the end project, Groupe-6 ensures it works with the best specialists
and opens its teams up to expertise from outside the agency, in the areas of engineering,
landscaping, stage design, lighting, acoustics, and more. The agencys teams are run by
experienced project leaders able to tackle complex and demanding programs.

Groupe-6 is committed to designing projects that respond to the issues of sustainable development
and eco-responsibility. The agency pays particular attention to the quality and sustainability of its
architecture and, with respect to its constructions, takes a preventive approach to the ecological
and energy-related issues.

Groupe-6 has been working overseas, accompanying its clients in their real estates ventures and
exporting its savoir-faire. Already involved in projects in Europe, the Ukraine, the Middle-East and
the Magreb, Groupe-6 competes in the most dynamic geographical areas.

With the opening in 2011 of a permanent studio in Barhain, Groupe-6 pursues its international
development, combining an innovative spirit and multicultural skills.

Active member of the AFEX network (Architectes Franais lExport) and certified ISO 9001,
Groupe-6 aims for excellence in what it does, focusing in particular on four key values:
n Consider its clients as real partners, offering permanent, trusting and constructive dialogue
about their projects.Respect, attentiveness and dedication are all highly valued by the agency.
n Invest in bold projects that push the agency to be creative, thorough and practical. Groupe-6
values its clients projects, giving them a privileged place among its concerns.
n Ensure a collective mode of operating, striking the right balance between innovation, consultation,
methodology, and decision-making priorities.
n Provide clients with architectural solutions that offer the best compromise between functional
requirements, flexibility and sustainability: essential conditions for the quality and durability of its
projects.

Paris Grenoble Bahrain

94 avenue Ledru-Rollin
75011 Paris
France
T +33 (0)1 53 17 96 00
paris@groupe-6.com
98 cours de la Libration - BP 2536 Dream Tower 1
38035 Grenoble Cedex 2 Sanabis
France Kingdom of Bahrain
T +33 (0)4 76 96 45 90 T +33 (0)1 53 17 96 00
grenoble@groupe-6.com bahrain@groupe-6.com

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011

08
Antoine Buisseret, Architect Partner / Project Director

After starting in London with Nicolas Grimshaw & Partners, then in Paris with Architecture-Studio,
Antoine joined Groupe-6 in 2002. Partner since 2008, he invested himself in the new University
Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand (2010).

Involved in the development of an international agency, he designed the Childrens Hospital of

the Future in Kiev (2007), won the Special Jury Prize for Senior Citizen Centre in Helsinki (2008).
In 2010, he developed three major projects in Bahrain: the Gold Market in Manama, Seavillas at
Dilmunia, and the Royal Maternity Hospital. Antoine is a member of the Board of AFEX (Architectes
franais lexport).

Paris Grenoble Bahrain

94 avenue Ledru-Rollin
75011 Paris
France
T +33 (0)1 53 17 96 00
paris@groupe-6.com
98 cours de la Libration - BP 2536 Dream Tower 1
38035 Grenoble Cedex 2 Sanabis
France Kingdom of Bahrain
T +33 (0)4 76 96 45 90 T +33 (0)1 53 17 96 00
grenoble@groupe-6.com bahrain@groupe-6.com

Bahrain Royal Maternity Hospital 2011