opposite office proposes to turn berlin's brandenburg airport into COVID-19 'superhospital'

opposite office, the architecture firm led by benedikt hartl, has proposed to transform berlin’s brandenburg airport into a ‘superhospital’ for COVID-19 (coronavirus) patients. the airport, which has been under construction since 2006, was originally planned to open in 2011 before it encountered a series of delays and cost overruns. ‘the airport is an example of incorrect planning and cost explosion,’ says hartl, who has written an open letter to the german minister of health, jens spahn.

all images courtesy of opposite office

‘in spain and italy, we can see that the health systems is highly struggling due to the outbreak of COVID-19,’ says benedikt hartl, who leads opposite office. ‘this will also face germany, since the outbreak is some days behind. we have had time to prepare for the pandemic even better since the wuhan outbreak. there, the huoshenshan clinic with a capacity of around 1,000 beds was literally ‘stomped’ out of the ground within 10 days. at that time, joking comparisons were made regarding the construction of the new berlin airport, which has been under construction since 2006.’

the airport’s existing layout

with fewer people flying now that at any time in recent history, it seems that berlin will not need its new airport any time soon. because of this, hartl proposes to transform the site into a ‘superhospital’ to prepare for a higher number of infected people. ‘an advantage would be that infected people would be completely isolated at the airport area (1,470 hectares/5.7 square miles) and would not come into contact with other patients,’ hartl continues. ‘the main building alone, with an area of ​​220,000 square meters (2,368,060 square feet), offers plenty of space for medical (emergency) care.’

the reconfigured floor plan

the proposal uses the airport’s existing building structure and is equipped with round modular cabins, which can be constructed in stages for each gate. the curved steel modules create a series of private booths, which provide each patient with their own space to recover and relax. builders who have been economically affected by the current crisis could take over the construction with the hospital taking just days to open. with flights and air traffic reduced globally, hartl says that the concept could be applied to airports worldwide.

the round modular cabins would be constructed in stages for each gate

each patient would have their own space for recovery

the airport’s existing waiting areas would be removed…

… and replaced with medical facilities

an axonometric drawing of the modular units

the curved, rounded structures create secure environments for relaxation

the COVID-19 superhospital could potentially open within a few days

project info:

name: COVID-19 superhospital
location: berlin, germany
design: opposite office
status: concept/proposal

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edited by: philip stevens | designboom