Box 1.15: Repurposing a heritage hotel as a health facility in Viña del Mar, Chile

A temporary field hospital was set up for coronavirus patients in São Paulo, Brazil © Nelson Almeida | AFP | Getty Images

Box 1.15: Repurposing a heritage hotel as a health facility in Viña del Mar, Chile

Adaptive reuse is a common approach to repurpose buildings and find new functions, particularly for heritage buildings. This has become even more valuable in times where intensive use towards a particular function is needed. In the case of Viña del Mar, Chile, the Hotel O’Higgins was repurposed to an isolation facility for low-risk patients during COVID-19. The building, constructed in 1936, was the headquarters of artists who participated in the city’s annual music festival, before becoming a publicly owned hotel leased to the private sector. It was closed after a fire in February 2020 and was subsequently refitted by health authorities in a matter of weeks to accommodate COVID-19 patients.99 For the hotel, like many other historic buildings that have been redeveloped in the face of a public health crisis, this is the latest in a series of transformations during its lifetime. While the crisis has demonstrated the opportunities for some buildings to be creatively repurposed, it has also highlighted the shortcomings of others in terms of poor design. In the latter category, many places of work like manufacturing facilities and office spaces, as well as facilities such as hospitals and care homes, showed an increased rate of infection amongst users as a result of inadequate layouts or ventilation systems. For example, cramped and unsanitary conditions led to a significant number of outbreaks in abattoirs and meat processing plants in Germany and the US. Hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities also emerged as hotspots for contracting the virus, leaving some citizens fearful of accessing these services.

These outbreaks have been associated with the physical form of the buildings themselves: their design should be reconsidered to avoid overcrowding, provide ventilation systems and minimize potential contact between different users. As a response to the ongoing debate on building design as a cause of increased Outbreaks have been associated with the physical form of the buildings themselves: their design should be reconsidered to avoid overcrowding, provide ventilation systems and minimize potential contact between different users

spread, architects and practitioners within the built environment have developed guidelines to adapt building structures in light of COVID19. This includes a guide for restaurants on outdoor dining, schools and offices. At health centres, too, while there are clear reasons behind the prevalence of outbreaks at health centres, reimagining the design of many of these spaces may be an important step to reducing risk. According to the Italian architect Filippo Taidelli, “COVID-19 has brought into sharp focus all the existing structural, organizational and technological challenges associated with old and obsolete healthcare facilities”, issues he has argued could be addressed by humanizing “the industrialization of healthcare spaces”.100

Examining the building scale in more detail, multi-storey buildings should be equipped with ventilation and revised circulation systems, both horizontally and vertically. For example, staircases should first be located in a suitable and attractive location within commercial and residential buildings to avoid crowding and queuing for lifts. Staircases leading upwards and downwards can be separated to reduce contact, while aisles in grocery stores can become oneway.101 Particularly with regard to elevators, stricter rules will likely be required, including reduced passenger loads, designated standing spots, mandatory mask wearing and a ban on conversation.102 These measures are likely to create knock-on effects elsewhere, meaning security staff and queuing systems may need to be in place to prevent crowds developing in lobbies or passageways instead.103 Other measures to safely manage the flow of people in a building could range from occupant limits to allocated time windows to enter and leave, along with the deployment of technologies such as anti-microbial finishing and filtration systems.104 As is already the case in many workplaces, staff could continue to work remotely some of the time and work schedules adjusted accordingly. Communal spaces, such as kitchens in office spaces and restaurants, could have restrictions on the number of people using them at any one time.

Figure 1.16: Guidelines on returning to the workplace

Source: Harrouk, 2020