Healthcare Design - December 2018 - 26

W IN N ER

MASH (mobile acute
services hospital)
FIR M: HDR

T H E C ON C EP T
MASH is an independent pod-based system of drones that can be assembled
anywhere without relying on existing infrastructure or a site. The system can
hover above disaster zones, below the cruising altitude of commercial aircraft and at a safe distance from potential danger. The "facility" would be assembled from a series of modular clinical and support pods that can be linked
together to create an elevated station. When not in use, they would be stored
at bases strategically located around the globe. Designed to be stackable like
shipping containers, the appropriate mix of pods could be immediately distributed to a disaster site, where separate propeller units will magnetically
engage the stacked pods and lift them. Once in the air, GPS would guide them
to the destination, controlled remotely from command centers. While limited
patient accommodations would be provided, the intention is for the pods to
be used to stabilize and treat patients prior to a transfer to medical center or
other safe location.
D E S I GN F EATUR ES
There are several pod typologies that vary from advanced clinical procedural
spaces to imaging and diagnostics to service and support. There are four main
categories: basic care, services, emergency, and staff. Within those, offerings
might include general treatment areas, a pharmacy, cafeteria, operating room,
emergency services, or staff areas. MASH is scalable, too, able to be adapted to
varying conditions and evolve as required by interlocking or uncoupling pods.
Taxi triage pods will serve as first responders and retrieve survivors from the
ground, transporting them up to the MASH. Finally, clinical pods would be assisted by support pods, providing independent and replaceable infrastructure
to maintain uninterrupted functioning. For example, the support pods would

DECEMBER 2018

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The MASH pods are
equipped with LED
lights to help locate
victims from the air. The
hovering hospital would
be composed of a mix
of pods based on need,
such as treatment and
emergency.

COURTESY OF HDR

C HAL L EN GE ID E NT IFIED: The
HDR team recognized that advances
in technology and preventive care will
vastly reduce the number of physical
healthcare facilities required in the
future, but a need that will persist is the
necessity for care to be delivered to the
sites of man-made conflicts or natural
disasters. Citing the rapid and efficient
deployment of healthcare professionals,
equipment, and supplies to disaster
zones as essential to survival and
recovery, the team decided to explore
where there's room for improvement.
For example, while organizations like
the Red Cross and Doctors Without
Borders do this already, their solutions
are often temporary tent facilities that
must be transported and assembled,
a process that wastes valuable time.
In a world where the incidence of
catastrophes including terrorist attacks,
wars, and climate change-induced
natural disasters is ever increasing, the
healthcare challenge is how to respond
more quickly and effectively.



P R ESEN T ED O N S TAG E B Y:
Romina Triboli Pisi, design leader; Margot
Cougal, architectural coordinator; Mira
Ebaf, architectural coordinator; and Ben
Belson, architectural coordinator

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Healthcare Design - December 2018

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