New emergency admission in Bojnice, Slovakia

The new emergency room at the Hospital with Polyclinic (NsP) Prievidza located in Bojnice has been utilized by patients since the summer of 2022. The authors of the new emergency room project are Ing. arch. Marek Jablonský and Ing. arch. Stanislav Majcher, PhD. from the company ARCHICO, s.r.o. based in the village of Malatiny, who used Ytong aerated concrete blocks for the rough construction, Silka calcium-sand blocks, and the wall surfaces are made of Ytong thermal insulation plaster. The location of the new pavilion was chosen by the authors within the hospital complex to achieve the best possible connection with the operating rooms and at the same time with the new access road for emergency vehicles.

The new emergency room has grown within the hospital complex as a separate building, which has its own entrance and elements of green infrastructure

Its construction was necessary because the previous premises did not meet the requirements. There was a particular lack of spaces with beds for patients who were waiting for further examinations and their health condition did not allow them to be in the waiting room. The number of specialist outpatient clinics in the new emergency room has been maintained, and the new building has added specific features in the form of a procedure room where doctors can perform minor surgical procedures. There is also a separate plaster room, a repositioning room, and a room for infectious patients. A new well-equipped intensive care unit has also been added.

The architectural solution is derived to the maximum extent from the functional requirements of the given operation

An important intention was to let in as much natural light as possible into the space while minimizing the loss of daylight from the existing hospital building. For this reason, the structure is perforated by a main central atrium, which is situated so that people coming to the emergency room from the hospital have a view into the atrium space. Other light wells are a result of new connecting corridors. "Since the surrounding buildings provide a view of the roofs of the new pavilion, we designed it to be green and accessible and connected to the children's department, which is on the 2nd floor. In addition to its visual and recreational character, this green roof solution also aims to reduce the amount of hard surfaces in the hospital complex, which is a positive aspect, especially during hot summer months,” says Ing. arch. Marek Jablonský.

Reduction of barium plaster due to the high density of Silka blocks

“For the perimeter walls and partition walls, we selected blocks and plasters from Xella, primarily due to the comprehensive product portfolio that meets the specific requirements for healthcare buildings. For the X-ray rooms, Silka calcium-sand blocks with a thickness of 150 mm were used, which, with a density of 1800 kg/m3, have excellent radiation protection properties, thus significantly reducing the thickness of barium plaster, which is not easy to work with. These blocks were also used for partition walls between individual outpatient clinics due to their sound insulation properties. In spaces where sound insulation, or radiation protection, did not play a significant role, standard partition blocks Ytong with a thickness of 150 mm were used. For the perimeter walls, Ytong blocks with a thickness of 300 mm were used.” states Stanislav Majcher.

Ytong internal plaster is suitable for both aerated concrete and Silka walls

Ytong internal lime-cement plasters were developed specifically for Ytong and Silka blocks. They are easy to work with, improve the thermal insulation properties of the walls, and allow the walls to breathe. Due to their ability to eliminate moisture from the building, they also reduce the risk of mold formation. The plaster can be used as a final layer in interiors, but an extra smooth wall surface is created with a second layer of smoothed Ytong internal gypsum plaster. This combination has several advantages – Ytong internal plaster is solid and highly breathable, while the gypsum plaster provides an extra smooth surface and ensures hygiene and cleanliness in the environment.