Karoo Medical Centre

The Karoo Medical Centre is a new build, 6 000sqm hospital situated near the Gariep Dam, Central South Africa. The hospital forms part of a larger development inclusive of a retirement village and consists of 42 sub-acute beds, 22 acute beds, operating theatre, consultation and procedure rooms for day patients, a chemist with dispensary and kitchen servicing both the hospital and adjacent retirement village.

The design challenge was to accommodate a large scale building within a rural landscape dominated by vast open planes. Strong horizontal lines and low pitched roofs were used to bring the building down to a more human scale while organic colours, selective use of natural materials and off-shutter concrete married the structure with the landscape.