Lucina Women and Children’s Hospital | B+H Architects

The 23-story Lucina hospital complex breaks down traditional boundaries by combining high-end patient care for women and children (including antenatal, gynecology, obstetrics, neonatal and postnatal care), administration offices, a maternity hotel, rehabilitation, and fitness center, early childhood education center, family medical check center, and other support facilities in one building.

Rethinking The Future Awards 2020
First Award | Healthcare / Wellness (Interior) (Built)

Project Name: Lucina Women and Children’s Hospital
Studio Name: B+H Architects
Area: 27,608 m2
Year: 2019
Location: Xiamen, China
Consultants: Interior Design
Photography Credits: Hu, Yijie

The project embodies a new building type that blends together healthcare, hospitality, and entertainment components. The building serves as a community for women and children where healing, learning, recovering and socializing can happen at the same time in one space. Accommodating Chinese women’s tradition of “sitting the month”, a traditional period of convalescence after childbirth, the maternity hotel blends healthcare design strategies with a hospitality approach to creating healing and homelike environments for the whole family.

The vision for the design was to celebrate the birth of new life, the beauty of the mother, and the excitement and joy of the entire family. A holistic approach was taken, with an artistic touch added to create a soothing and cozy atmosphere.

The hospital name “Lucina” is reminiscent of Juno Lucina from ancient Roman mythology, whose role as the goddess of childbirth safeguards the lives of women in labor. She inspires the touches of vibrancy, the calm and embracing mood, and the joy of motherhood. To balance this energy, we also drew inspiration from the goddess Venus, who represents love and appreciation for physical beauty. The design translates her essence into the concept through the use of a natural palette, including stone, wood, and rich textiles. Much of this is inspired by Renaissance paintings depicting both goddesses. The replica of Renaissance master Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, depicting the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility arriving at the shore after her birth, is hanging in the lobby. This dramatic wall of art, together with embossed metal finishes and elegant furniture extend a warm welcome to all visitors and lead them into different floors in the building.

The neutral palette, sleek lines and abstract textures of the main design concept further reinforce this Renaissance inspiration. Applied consistently throughout the buildings, the building is imbued with optimistic, reassuring energy. The use of stone and hardwood in public areas recall nature, while the fabric and wallpaper create the contrast that ignites the choreography of the eye dancing from one object to another in the space.

The maternity hotel rooms feature wooden panels and floors to further create a sense of warmth and care so critical during those early days of motherhood. Further, special attention was paid to the lighting and environmental noise, two critical factors in the development of a newborn. At Lucina Women and Children’s hospital, the twin forces of The Mother (Juno Lucina) and The Daughter (Venus) meet to create a nurturing environment for all in its care. By focusing on the ‘3H’ healthcare concept in which ‘Holistic Care,’ ‘Hotel Style,’ and ‘Home-Warm’ are all considered in minute detail, the design creates a superior, premium design experience for women and children.