Temporary change of function

Challenge

On 27 December 2020, the first Danes were vaccinated against COVID-19, and during the first half of 2021, the vaccine was rolled out as an offer to the entire population. In November 2021, more than 75 percent of the Danish population had been vaccinated.1 In order to implement the vaccination strategy, it was necessary to set up vaccination centres in existing buildings. Across the country, authorities had to identify suitable locations to set up the temporary centres. The buildings had to live up to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority’s requirements for infection prevention, which meant, among other things, that they had to be able to house both vaccination and observation areas2 and to handle large crowds while meeting social distancing requirements. Therefore, the access conditions and physical design of the buildings were key criteria during the selection process.

Solution

As early as December 2020, the Central Denmark Region (Region Midtjylland) announced that seven vaccination centres would open when the vaccine was ready.3 The seven vaccination centres were to be located in the same cities in the region that already housed test centres. However, as the test centres were operating at full capacity, the vaccination centres would have to be housed in new premises. In the city of Silkeborg, a former arena proved to be a suitable location for a vaccination centre, because the long, narrow grandstand building made it possible to handle a large number of people while meeting safety and social distancing requirements.

The example demonstrates how a building’s design can support a different purpose than originally intended. Additionally, it shows how a crisis situation can open up new ways of looking at buildings – in this case transforming a social and cultural gathering place to a place for health preparedness.

Taxonomy

Sphere: Treatment

Timescale: Short Term

Type: Interior Design

User Group: All user groups

The elongated building is well suited to house the various stages of the vaccination process

Project and location: TestCenter Denmark’s headquarters in the North Jutland Region, Aalborg, Denmark

Contributor: Region Nordjylland - Patientforløb og Økonomi – Sundhedsplanlægning

Established: 2020