Interesting article about warm-climate hospital design in NYT

[Guest guest]

Rwanda: Hospital's Design Keeps Fresh Air in Mind

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/science/19glob.html

* " In the dark corridors and congested waiting rooms of rural hospitals in

sub-Saharan Africa, tuberculosis can spread like a rumor in a small town. A

patient who comes in with a broken leg might leave with a deadly disease.

Recently, several global health aid groups have been trying not only to

contain and treat recalcitrant infectious diseases like tuberculosis, but

also to promote new ways of building hospitals in the world's poorest rural

areas.

In July, builders broke ground on a new hospital in Rwanda's Burera

district, near the Uganda border. The design relies on simple features to

reduce the spread of airborne disease: outdoor walkways instead of enclosed

halls, waiting rooms alfresco and large windows staggered at different

levels on opposing walls to keep air circulating... " *