A Case Study on the Revitalization of a Hospital Building : Toward Open Building of Existing Buildings

Japan's rapidly aging and shrinking population has resulted in an increasing number of hospital facilities that do not meet today's demands. In order to cope with the rapidly changing healthcare environment in Japan, it is adequate to utilize and renovate existing hospital buildings. This study focuses on the “Refining Architecture” method, abbreviated as “RA” in this paper, which is a drastic renovation of existing buildings through seismic retrofitting, legalization, interior and exterior renovation, and plan and design changes. The process and method of investigation and renovation of existing buildings in RA are clarified using the Hospital project W, which was renovated by RA, as a case study. This study was conducted by interviewing the design leaders of Hospital W and analyzing the design documents. Finally, a comparison with open building is made to examine the theoretical considerations of RA, and the effectiveness of RA. In particular, this study shows that the RA method is unique and effective in that it involves an in-depth investigation of the existing building, and the structural frame is viewed as plastic and vulnerable. The findings of the RA methodology also suggested that it may be useful for future development of the open building concept.