The Arab Hospital

(Relational) Health as (Relational) Infrastructure

Abstract

Through a synthesis of the hybridization found in historic Arab Hospitals alongside contemporary work from OMA and Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), this paper’s argument evolves to first explore successfully integrated hospitals in both Türkiye and Iraq (8th century to 13th century). It then critically examines the argument made by OMA regarding the Western precedent of the “matchbox on a muffin” (tower on podium) which became (and still is) universal: that it suffers because of its lack of correct adaptability. The paper concludes with an analysis of both contemporary hospitals and provides a reading of both OMA’s and RPBW’s proposals that unites modern adaptability to the relational, dynamic, and patient-centered contexts of the historic Arab Hospital.

The paper argues that the design of the Arab hospital is not the result of “finding” a solution, but instead, one that allows for a process of relation that creates environments for healing. It is through this sequence that historic Arab Hospitals were (and still are) uniquely patient-centered, as integrated into its local healing culture as much as its building culture.