Identify and Prioritize the Criteria Affecting Hospital Design with a Passive Defense Approach

Abstract

Introduction: In this paper, Prioritizing the effective criteria for hospital design with a passive defense approach will enable hospitals, as one of the most important centers for providing services to the injured, to perform their duties as correctly as possible in crisis and danger times.Methods: the present study is mixed-method research that is based on two approaches, qualitative and quantitative. First, the authors reviewed past research and interviewed experts in the field to identify and determine the effective criteria for hospital design with a passive defense approach. Then, they prepared the Delphi questionnaire to confirm and validate the identified criteria. Next, they used paired comparison questionnaire to categorize and classify the criteria. Finally, the hierarchical analysis method and Excle software were used to analyze data.Results: at this stage, all identified criteria were approved, and none were deleted. These criteria, based on their priority, are plan, façade, escalators (emergency exit), structure, location, form, facilities and equipment, general and functional, and access. Based on the results, plan criterion was the first criterion with a weight of 0.152t.Conclusion: Based on architecture experts' and pundits' opinions, an earthquakeresistant structure has a simple plan, while it is symmetrical and without elongation at the surface (plan) and height (facade and cross sections). Such a structure has a uniform and continuous resistance distribution and is more resistant to earthquakes. The simpler plan of building, gives engineers more power to understand the seismic behavior of the structure and find more information about the dynamic (kinetic) behavior of its connections.

Keywords

• elevators and escalators
• earthquakes
• hospital design and construction
• surveys and questionnaires
• software