April 2017

30 BUILD / April 2017 , A Holistic Approach Leif Petersen talks to Build about his firmand howhe stays ahead of the curve with his holistic strategy. Since 1977 Petersen arkitektkontor has been active in healthcare facility planning with more than 60 hospital projects, both national and international, under its belt. These include several large complex health care constructions like: • Herlev Hospital Denmark in partnership with Vilhelm Lauritzen architects • Glostrup Hospital Denmark in partnership with Vilhelm Lauritzen architects • Eastern Hospital Gothenburg • Womens clinic 50 000 m2 • Sahlgrenska University Hospital Gothenburg • Eksjö Hospital • Medical and Surgical clinics 60 000 m2 • Rågården Gothenburg • Forensic Psychiatry 30 000 m2 • Kalmar County Hospital Petersen architects and Liljewall architects have been partners in the healthcare sector since 2013 with a staff of 170 people and offices in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Malmö and Buenos Aires. The team is one of Sweden’s leading architectural firms in the healthcare sector with the skills, techniques, ability and resources to handle the largest and most complicated tasks in the healthcare construction sector. Leif Petersen tells us more about the firm’s approach when taking on-board a new client or project. “We give the client access to employees with a holistic, architectural, technical, functional, economic and environmental approach, great enthusiasm and many years of experience,” states Leif. “A project group is put together by dedicated employees with the right skills and experiences in similar projects and an action plan is drawn up for the projects operation, resource addition, quality and environmental plan, including project cost control and risk management. “All employees are working with the forefront of today´s CAD/ IT environments and BIM is a natural part of planning.” The internal culture at Petersen is holistic and it is through this approach that the team is able to come up with practical suggestions and detailed instructions. “We have the ability to see the project from this perspective and to encourage and recognize different customer preferences,” Leif explains. “We are able to cooperate with other specialists in the construction phase. Our goal is to understand the customer´s requirements and preferences and help the client to formulate problems and visions and contribute to defining future requirements, development and organization. We have a close dialogue with the client and different user groups to analyze, question and develop the requirements and wishes to reach a common goal.” To ensure he stays ahead of the competition and at the forefront of any emerging trends in the industry, Leif gives regular presentations at national and international conferences, as well as lecturing about healthcare planning at technical colleges and universities. There are several projects underway currently for Petersen, including the Eastern Hospital Gothenburg Women´s clinic, Scandinavia’s largest Women´s centre for maternity and neonatal care. However, Leif has two specific projects in mind which stand out for being interesting and the most successful. The first is the New Emergency House at Sahlgrenska University Hospital Gothenburg. It features an emergency unit, X-ray department, surgery unit with 25 theatres, cardiac intensive care, and in-patient and outpatient facilities and totals 30 000 m2. It was Leif Petersen´s last project in employ of White architects Gothenburg, and it is a prize- winning project which helped kick- start Petersen arkitektkontor. The building features a strict graphic façade in warm red brick with playful stainless steel screens. The second is Highland Hospital House 11 Eksjö. Highland Hospital features an overall white, stylish functionalist design and the building includes a women’s clinic and surgical clinics as well as occupational therapy and physiotherapy departments. Leif describes it as “a temporary home that brings joie de vivre to the weakness of the patient and a comfortable daily environment for the hardworking staff.” With regards to the future, Leif sees continuous business development for the firm. “The Swedish healthcare facility sector is in an intensive and expansive stage. Our 30 year in the health care area has given us an extensive experience and knowledge, where our global sphere of influence has expanded and that of leading- edge technology has given us a comprehensive insight into the future of research and ideas. “We are a team of dedicated consultants from various disciplines, which together create a resource- efficient and robust hospital with low environmental impact. Healthcare is constantly evolving and today´s health care does not look like yesterday´s and how the future of health care looks like we do not know.” 1702BU29