646 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION I. 



8.— A NOTE ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOSPITAL 

 WARDS. 



By JOHN aULMAN, F.R.I.B.A. 



The planning and arrangement of hospital wards is a subject to 

 which so much attention has been directed that it may appear at 

 first sight there is little or nothing new to be discussed in connec- 

 tion therewith, but a suggestion of our respected President has led 

 me to consider whether the most suitable type has yet been 

 evolved for the temperate and semi-tropical regions of Aiistralia. 

 That which we are accustomed to was developed and perfected in 

 Europe and North i\merica, where the winters are more or less 

 severe, and every ray of stmshine during that season is of so much 

 value that a little excess in the summer is not noticed. But in this 

 southern land we have almost too much sunshine, and the tendency 

 is to screen ourselves from the too ardent rays of the source of 

 heat and light. Modern investigations seem, however, to prove 

 more and moi-e clearly the efficiency of the direct rays of the sun 

 in destroying the germs of disease, and the problem in ward 

 design is, therefore, how we may secure direct sun action, when 

 and where required, and at the same time minimise the evils of 

 too much heat and glare. Now let us consider for a moment the 

 external structure of a ward. It consists of windows, walls, and 

 roof, through the former of which both heat and glare penetrate, 

 and through the two latter heat alone. Taking the windows first, 

 their position between the beds is fixed beyond discussion, and 

 their height, it is generally agreed, should be from about 2ft. 6in. 

 or 3ft. above the floor to the ceiling line. May, however, their 

 width be decreased as compared with those in the northern hemi- 

 sphere? This would reduce the amount of light on a bright summer 

 day, but not its intensity, and in winter time would be found 

 objectionable, as insufficient light would be admitted. The facili- 

 ties for through ventilation wovdd also be decreased. Internal 

 blinds do not seem to me of much service, because, though they 

 modify glare, they are of little service against heat, and also stop 

 ventilation. External verandahs which cover both windows and 

 walls are effectual against heat and glare, but fatally defective in 

 permanently cutting off the direct rays of the sun. 



A modification of this system, as seen at the Prince Alfred 

 Hospital, Sydney, and elsewhere, is the reduction of the height of 

 the verandah so that a small upper window gives direct admission 

 to sunlight, and the remainder of the window and wall space is 

 permanently shaded. This is suited to an intensely hot and bright 

 climate, in which cloudy days are rare, but where they freqxiently 

 occur the wards are more or less gloomy, and the amount of direct 

 sunlight available is small in quantity and cannot be increased at 

 will. External Venetian shutters of the kind wherein the louvres 

 are movable offer some advantages, as they can be set to admit 

 any amount of light from the minimum to the maximum. They 



