Adaptive reuse

Challenge

In the autumn of 2020, PCR test centres all over Denmark moved out of white tents and into more permanent settings. During the first half of the pandemic, white tents became a symbol of the COVID-19 effort in Denmark, but with winter in sight and expectations of a second wave, many authorities chose to move test centres into more robust premises with heating. In autumn 2020, TestCenter Danmark – the national organiser of COVID-19 tests – was able to perform 65,000 tests daily1, and with the prospect of having to expand testing capacity, it was necessary to ensure a good environment for the growing group of staff and for the people getting tested.2 Extensive efforts were made throughout the country to find suitable locations. In Copenhagen, “pavilion towns” sprang up3, and elsewhere in the country, sports facilities, barracks, etc. were built or adapted for new use.4/5/6 In the North Denmark Region (Region Nordjylland), the PCR test centres also moved to winter-proof premises in the autumn of 2020.

Solution

In the city of Aalborg, the largest test centre was moved from tents in the Nørresundby area to a permanent setting in a former industrial building.7 The North Denmark Region (Region Nord-

Taxonomy jylland) rented five adjacent rooms in the industrial building. In order to live up to infection and hygiene guidelines, which, among other things, meant that foot traffic in the test areas had to be one-directional, it was important to find a building whose construction and design made it possible to adapt to guidelines without making extensive changes. The guidelines also stipulate that the physical environment must support appropriate behaviour among both staff and people being tested – including by means of clear signage and social distancing markings – and that furniture and surfaces must be able to withstand cleaning and disinfection. In addition to large storage rooms, the building also housed an office section, a loading bay, and several entrances. For these reasons, the building was selected as the base of operations for the region’s COVID-19 effort and was used for storage, planning, and management of emergency preparedness as well as a test centre, which was subsequently transformed into a vaccine centre in the spring of 2021.

The example shows how, by using the qualities of existing buildings and performing only minor physical interventions, the emergency services managed to create a clinical environment and good conditions for staff and citizens.

Sphere: The Workplace, Treatment Timescale: Short Term Type: Building Intervention, Interior Design User Group: Employees/Service Providers, Customers/Users

The former industrial buildings in Aalborg now house a vaccination centre, the main warehouse for all vaccine and PCR test centres in the region, and the head office for the centres’ administrative staff

At the beginning of the pandemic, test centres were set up in tents

Test centres later moved to proper indoor facilities to ensure adequate conditions