VHM’s design combines the local architectural style with the needs of the hospital operator.
Iconic designs from VHM’s drawing board
01 February 2020
In designing the Oman International Hospital, architectural and engineering consultant VHM (Vítor Hugo – Coordenação e Gestão de Projectos) has focused on creating a landmark building that combines the local architectural style with the most contemporary solutions for healthcare facilities.
The result is a very modern and high-quality facility that is well integrated with the city of Muscat and is positioned as a benchmark for the healthcare sector in the Gulf, Vitor Conceicão, VHM’s general manager for the Middle East, tells Gulf Construction magazine.
Portugal-based VHM is responsible for the design, project management and supervision of the Oman International Hospital project, acting as lead consultant right from the design stage to the handover of the facility to the client.
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Oman International Hospital is a modern and high-quality facility that is well integrated with the city of Muscat. |
“For this project, we’ve involved different teams composed of technicians from various fields and specialisations, including the project management and supervision teams that are on site daily to guarantee that the project’s standards and requirements are achieved,” he says.
VHM embarked on the design process in October 2016 and will supervise construction work on the project until its completion in the second quarter of 2020, according to Conceicão.
The project is currently in the finishings stage, with all internal and external finishings and final connections for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services to prepare for the installation of medical equipment now under way, he adds.
Commenting on the challenges of the project, Conceicão says: “Construction of this kind of healthcare facilities always involves a large number of challenges that need to be addressed on a daily basis to guarantee the success of the project. For this particular project, the main challenges were the development and integration of a healthcare facility of this scale and specialization in the heart of the city of Muscat, guaranteeing its integration and visibility, while striking a balance between the local standards and requirements and the needs of the operator to achieve their international standards and procedures.”
Tackling these challenges called for conducting a detailed study of the prevailing conditions and practices and teamwork with all the stakeholders involved on a daily basis, he points out.
“Having undertaken a thorough follow-up of the project since the initial design stage and having been in charge of the project management and supervision team of the project, we are confident that the client’s requirements will be met and that Oman International Hospital will certainly be a reference in the private healthcare sector of Oman,” Conceicão adds.
VHM is an architectural and engineering consultant with more than 25 years of experience in design, project management and supervision of building and infrastructure construction.
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A private healthcare facility in Portugal for Trofa Saude Group ... designed by VHM. |
Active internationally, VHM focuses on the provision of global consultancy services in the areas of engineering and architecture. Founded in 1993, the practice today has 260 employees specialised in conducting studies and projects, coordination, management, supervision and health and safety coordination of work sites and environmental management.
Headquartered in Oporto, VHM has branches in Lisbon and Coimbra in Portugal, as well as globally in Angola, Morocco, Oman, UAE and Bolivia, among other countries. In the Gulf region, VHM started operations in Oman in 2017 and in the UAE in 2019.
“In the Gulf region, we are focusing essentially on the design, project management and supervision of healthcare, hospitality, residential and educational buildings,” Conceicão remarks.
Over the past year, the company has intensified its marketing and commercial activities in the Middle East and Asia and over 2020, VHM intends to consolidate its position in the Middle East, through extending its operations to additional countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and boosting its commercial activities in the Asian market, he adds.
“During 2019, the company maintained a stable position in the countries where it has consolidated its operations – namely Portugal and Angola – and has witnessed significant growth in new markets, such as the GCC, with new projects in Oman and the UAE and South America, particularly in Bolivia,” Conceicão says.
VHM’s ethos is to understand, integrate and value people, in a bid to create a flexible and multidisciplinary organisation with extended competencies that respond to stringent client demands through creativity and professionalism, he points out.
Over the past 25 years, VHM has served more than 1,000 clients, achieving a business volume above €100 million ($111 million) and participating in projects valued at around €5 billion.
VHM has been involved in several interesting projects in a number of countries worldwide. These include project management and supervision of the refurbishment of Oeiras Park Shopping Mall, completed in 2019; the design, project management and supervision of a football academy in Braga, Portugal, which was also completed in 2018; and the project management and supervision of six hotels in several capital cities in Africa, including the five-star Noom Abidjan, Noom Freetown and Noom Pointe Noire which are currently under construction, and the three-star Seen Abidjan and the five-star Noom Conakry and Noom Cotonou, which were completed in 2017.
Last year, it completed the designs for four private healthcare facilities in Portugal for Trofa Saude Group.
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