AZ Diest / Archipelago + Gortemaker Algra Feenstra

Architects: archipelago, Gortemaker Algra Feenstra
Area: 17,323 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Steven Massart
Structural Engineering: M-gineers
Civil Engineering: Pauwels
City: Diest
Country: Belgium

AZ Diest is conceived as the first phase of a new urban hospital that redefines the relationship between healthcare, landscape, and city life in the historic center of Diest. Positioned along the river Demer, the project prioritizes public accessibility, ecological responsibility, and patient well-being through an integrated architectural and urban strategy. The hospital adopts a modular and flexible structure that supports a wide range of medical functions while remaining adaptable to future needs. Sustainable construction methods, including prefabricated concrete elements and hollow floor slabs, reduce material use and environmental impact while accelerating the building process. The design emphasizes permeability and connection, linking pedestrian and cycling routes with interior spaces and green surroundings. Natural light, views of the parkland context, and shared internal spaces contribute to a care environment that focuses on recovery, social interaction, and long-term resilience.

Brick is a staple in our projects, particularly suitable for our local rainy climate due to its durability and aesthetic qualities.
Interview with Kris Loix and Maarten Lambrechts of archipelago architects

Az diest / archipelago+gortemaker algra feenstra

Rather than presenting itself as an isolated healthcare complex, AZ Diest positions the hospital as an active civic structure embedded within the everyday life of the city. Its architectural language is deliberately urban, with a continuous north–south path along the western façade forming a sheltered public route beneath a generous portico. This gesture reinforces the hospital’s role as a public institution while encouraging movement, interaction, and visual continuity between the building and its surroundings.

The hospital program is organized to accommodate a broad spectrum of care, including outpatient surgery, rehabilitation, geriatric services, and mother-and-child care, alongside reception and shared facilities that open toward the city. Flexibility within the structural grid allows these diverse functions to coexist efficiently without compromising spatial clarity or architectural cohesion. The approach supports operational efficiency while ensuring that the hospital remains legible and welcoming to patients and visitors alike.

Landscape integration plays a central role in shaping the experience of the building. Rising alongside the Demer within a park-like setting, the hospital is fully connected to existing pedestrian and cycling networks. This permeability strengthens the link between the city and the healthcare campus while offering patients visual relief and a sense of calm derived from proximity to nature. The use of local and durable materials further anchors the building within its context, balancing robustness with a refined, human-scaled expression.

Internally, each wing is organized around an open central area that enables effective nursing supervision while encouraging social interaction. These shared spaces are intended to draw patients out of their rooms, supporting the concept of a reactivating hospital where movement and engagement form part of the healing process. At the northwestern edge, a large arcade connects the new structure to the existing campus, marking the main entrance with double-height columns at the drop-off zone. More than a circulation element, this arcade functions as a social threshold, offering views toward Cerckel Parc and reinforcing the hospital’s identity as an accessible and integral part of urban life.