KOBE CITY MEDICAL CENTER GENERAL HOSPITAL

As the last line of defense for the lives of Kobe citizens, this is a core hospital that provides emergency care and advanced medical treatment without turning anyone away. The design is clearly organized into three distinct volumes: the North Wing for outpatient services, the patient wards, and the South Wing housing the energy center. The buildings are connected by atriums and courtyards, with public spaces arranged around them to create an intuitive layout while bringing natural light into the heart of the hospital. Additionally, extensive raised floors and external utility shafts have been incorporated to allow for flexible adaptation to future advances and changes in medical technology. In the patient wards, the hospital was the first in Japan to implement the “straight four-bed” layout—where beds are arranged in a single row—which balances the improvement of the patient living environment with ease of nursing care.