Construction has begun on a Foster + Partners-designed hospital in Cairo that will provide free treatment for heart patients "in Egypt and beyond".
The 300-bed Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre will be located in sight of the Pyramids, as well as "a verdant landscape and a calming lake". According to a press release from Foster + Partners, these views may help some patients to recover more quickly.
The centre’s ground floor contains diagnosis and treatment facilities, an A&E department, an outpatient clinic, and rehabilitative departments.
The first floor has modular operating theatres and eight intensive care units, oriented to offer the best views from their windows.
A green terrace is located on the second floor, as well as a nursery, a staff canteen and meeting spaces. The upper floors contain patient rooms, sheltered by shell-like roof structures.
Lord Foster, the founder of Foster and Partners, commented that the centre would offer "state-of-the-art, free-of-charge medical services to the Egyptian people, particularly the underprivileged. Lush and verdant, this oasis of paths and parks promotes wellbeing.
"With its passive design strategy, it is an exemplar of sustainability, responding to the needs of patients and to its locale. We are delighted to be working with Sir Magdi Yacoub and his foundation for such a noble cause."
Sir Magdi Yacoub, the renowned Egyptian cardiac surgeon and founder of the Aswan Heart Centre, added: "Cardiovascular disease is currently the most important cause of disability and death, with 80% of the burden affecting low and middle-income countries. This demands urgent action, with an emphasis on quality and excellence at every level."
Images courtesy of Foster + Partners
