In November 2002, “SARS” cases appeared in China; in 2003, SARS spreading over the country caused emergency. On May 7, 2003, the Group received a government notice requiring it to complete the design package of Shanghai Public Health Center within 24 hours. The Group immediately organized effective strength to work. After 1 hour of having received the task, a design ideology of scientific index requirement and modularized development which is custom-made for the Public Health Center came into being. During over 20 hours, arguments aiming at characteristics of preventing infectious diseases and cross infection of viruses, including building structure, sewage purification, air filtration, seismic resistance and rapid construction were simultaneously carried out. In the early morning of May 9, the first complete version of original planning and design package about constructing Public Health Center was completed, which was sent to the municipal government in 3 expression methods- text, model and animation demonstration, and were given initial recognition and praise by relevant municipal leadership and the Department of Health.
Mr. Han Zheng, then mayor, Mr. Yin Yicui, then vice secretary of the municipal party committee visited the Public Health Center
WHO visited the Public Health Center
Within a year from May 2003 to August 2004, the Public Health Center with a total building area of 80,000 square meters and a land area of 500 mu, completed development of original shop drawings, overall positioning, design of construction drawings, field guidance and as-built acceptance. On September 17, 2004, the Public Health Center held a grand completion and delivery ceremony; Mr. Han Zheng, then mayor of Shanghai was present and announced the official initiation of the Public Health Center. Dr. Shigeru Omi, director of WHO Asia-Pacific Region Committee gave a high compliment to the design, thinking that it was one of the best hospitals he had ever seen, a people-oriented health center, which had reached the world’s first class; Mr. Zhu Qingsheng, vice minister of the Ministry of Health also spoke highly of the design, saying that both its design concept and its equipment were first class in the world.
In the design of Shanghai Public Health Center, we made a miracle. We transferred elites and set up a project design department of over 100 people, having fulfilled the promise of providing the first round of design schemes within 24 hours and created a record design speed of the Shanghai Institute; meanwhile, we completed the process from project proposal approval to completion of the major municipal project over 1 year, and built up an international first class medical center with high quality and efficiency.
Quoted from Mr. Zhang Xingjian’s speech at the Symposium on the Past 60 Years
