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Story 10 October 2019
Public

Stories: Onwards and upwards for Vlopes in Denmark

stories-vlopes
Joana Moreira

The EIC funded company dedicated to duct installation won a competition in 2011 to supply and equip the 56.000m2 extension of Herlev Hospital near Copenhagen. The project, designed with sustainability in mind, connects patients to nature and aims to create a healing architecture.  

It all started back in 2011 when Henning Larsen Architects, the well renowned Danish Company, won the competition to design the addition to the New Herlev Hospital: an area of 56.000m2, costing around 113 million euros. VLopes Scandinavia, a branch of the Portuguese group Vieira & Lopes, is part of this project since the beginning. The firm was subcontracted by the Spanish company Inabensa for the HVAC segment (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioned), related with duct installation.   

The 56.000m2 extension of Herlev Hospital comprises a new emergency department and maternity services, including a paediatrics unit, among others. The winning project consists of three circular buildings placed on rectangular bases – which are displaced from each other, creating a number of inviting outdoor spaces.

 

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Connecting patients to nature 

The recreational and healing effect of nature is well-documented and at Herlev Hospital this knowledge is taken seriously. As many of the hospital users have a view of the outside environment through the windows of the building, the landscape is designed as a number of “pictures”, varying with the rhythm of the hospital and changing seasons. 

 

“We know that nature has a healing and calming effect on humans. At a hospital, this is of significant importance. In our proposal, the landscape thus plays a very central role – not only around but also in the middle of the buildings. Herlev Hospital is a luxuriant, vibrant and green hospital, where patients will not only feel better than they normally do at a hospital – they will also recover in a shorter time”, says Stig L. Andersson, Creative Director in SLA, the landscape architects behind the winning proposal.

 

The Portuguese firm holds 20 daily workers in the HVAC segment

Vieira & Lopes Group has 135 employees scattered through several departments, with 20 workers fully dedicated to the HVAC segment. The project will be energy class 1 and the Portuguese company also supplied and equipped the new Herlev Hospital with equipment by OCRAMclima - the brand owned by Vieira & Lopes represents a business of 1,1 million euros.

 

“We are proud to take part of this project and it will be a wonderful reference for future projects, both in the country and in the hospital sector” added the CEO of Vieira & Lopes group, Marco Lopes.

 

VLopes project has received a Phase 1 grant from the EIC SME Instrument program in 2018. The company expects to achieve an accumulated turnover of €12.1 million and +120 employees by 2024, through direct sales.

 

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.

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