LAW ENFORCEMENT HEALTH CARE CENTRE, BERETTYÓÚJFALU

The construction of the Law Enforcement Health Care Centre was declared to be a priority investment by the Government. The institution, which is unprecedented in Europe, serves the health care, the treatment, and the nursing of patients who fell ill in the prisons of Hungary. There will be 196 active beds in the building, supplemented by various examination rooms and doctors’ offices, while the inmates will be transferred to the neighbouring town hospital for outpatient interventions. The building is extraordinarily complex, with complicated functions, structures, and technical solutions, completely meeting the requirements both regarding medical technology and imprisonment safety. In the placement of the mass of the building, it was a priority to adjust it to the scale and orientation of the already given buildings and to loosen the scale and form of the buildings by segmentation. It was important in articulating the architectural character that the house would be accepted and appreciated by the locals, in spite of its function. This inspired the double cross volume, which consists of serving wings, and perpendicular to that, wards where patients can be cared for. The ground floor contains only staff rooms and offices, so inmates do not move on this level. The wards and the supplementary medical functions are on the two upper floors. Vertical transportation in the building is provided by two large lifts and the belonging staircases, while a closed guard post is placed in each intersection of the middle corridors. The entire building is made of raw concrete; the reduced and neutral use of material is justified by the function, the exterior-interior white color is an abstract expression of cleanliness, hygiene and modernism. The windows are unusually large compared to other law enforcement institutions in Hungary, in order to improve the physiological conditions of the patients and to reduce the necessary energy use as well as the patient’s inclination for aggression. The operation of the building is supported by heat energy produced by air source heat pumps, for safety reasons, all the fittings are hidden in the house. A formal garden surrounds the building to ensure the peace for both patients and staff here. Besides, a multiple-level safety system is built on the border of the plot.

Law Enforcement Health Care Centre, Berettyóújfalu
general design: MG Építész ltd.
Interior design: Erika Ignácz
Customer: Ministry of the Interior Affairs
Year of design: 2018-2019
Volume: 8 000 m²