In May 2014, a remarkable team of volunteer architects, engineers, and designers with eMi Canada traveled to Ghana to design a hospital that could provide the excellent service we envisioned.
It was a pleasure for EMI to partner with GRID–NEA to design a model hospital in rural Ghana to meet the medical needs of the impoverished population. Working with the medical specialists made us as designers see their compassion and the deep desire to provide very high quality service. So our design process made sure that this wasn’t to be just another hospital. The room designs, building layout, people movement, and outdoor spaces all were put together to ensure not only the best facility for medical care, but also to promote community for the staff, patients and visitors. We pray that this model hospital will represent high standards of health care and community and will replicate itself throughout rural Ghana.
Kevin Wiens, P.Eng.
eMi Staff Engineer
Theirs was not an easy task. They had two weeks to create usable plans for turning this site …
… into a hospital like this, capable of providing quality care to people in the surrounding communities.
They went above and beyond our expectations, working late into the evening after long days in the heat to develop plans for a unique facility that goes beyond providing basic curative health care.
The existing NEA site is a model of versatility of use, creativity of function, and overall harmony of community. Inhabitants can live here, work here, worship here, and interact socially. It is a beautiful place begun by David Mensah and others, for God’s glory. EMI’s goal is to create a hospital which fits this environment, and is a welcoming, caring outreach facility for a region which is so much in need of adequate healthcare.
Frank Gorman, AIA
Chief Architect, eMi Volunteer Team
We are grateful to our eMi friends for their visionary work on this project.