GANSAM NEWS
[News] Second Hospital of Wonju Yonsei University Health System, Designed by Gansam, Breaks Ground — Creating a Regional Healthcare Hub Linked with the Main Hospital
▴ A 50-bed hospital with one basement level and seven floors above ground in Wonju Enterprise City — scheduled for completion in March 2028
▴ The main hospital handles severe and emergency care, while the second hospital takes on outpatient care, health screenings and everyday essential care
▴ Circulation designed from on-site interviews and healing gardens — improved accessibility through links to public transit
Key guests prepare for the ceremonial groundbreaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the second hospital of Wonju Yonsei University Health System. ⓒGansam
The second hospital of Wonju Yonsei University Health System, designed by Gansam, held its groundbreaking ceremony on September 14 at the project site in Gagok-ri, Jijeong-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon State, beginning full-scale construction.
The second hospital will have a site area of 17,983㎡ and a gross floor area of 11,964㎡, with one basement level, seven floors above ground and 50 beds. It is scheduled for completion in March 2028 and, after about three months of trial operation, is expected to begin full operation in June of the same year.
Perspective of the second hospital of Wonju Yonsei University Health System. A vertical pattern expressing the hospital’s identity is applied to the façade, and the building is positioned so that it can be easily recognized from the intersection. ⓒGansam
From Prevention to Specialized Care within the Region — Accessibility Secured through Public Transit Links
Through the second hospital, Wonju Yonsei University Health System plans to build a ‘regionally self-sufficient healthcare system’ in which care continues within the region, from prevention and health management to specialized treatment. The second hospital will take on outpatient care, health screenings and everyday essential care, while the main hospital, a tertiary hospital, will concentrate its capacity on treating severe and emergency patients in the province.
The second hospital will be located close to the daily lives of residents of the Enterprise City and the Jijeong-myeon and Munmak-eup areas, where access to medical facilities has been relatively limited. During the permit consultation process, Gansam incorporated a bus stop and a taxi stand so that patients without a car can also reach the hospital by public transit.
Interviews with 16 Departments over Two Months — Refining the Design by Coordinating On-site Needs
During planning, Gansam spent two months interviewing staff from 16 departments — including the health screening and endoscopy centers, purchasing and logistics, surgery, central supply, radiology, nutrition, patient administration, general affairs and the inpatient wards — reviewing the movement paths of patients and medical staff, the connections between departments and the flow of logistics.
As a result, the hospital was divided vertically by function. Outpatient care and health screening are placed on floors 2 to 4, and surgery and inpatient functions on floors 5 and 6, minimizing the crossing of paths between outpatient visitors and inpatients. The hospital building and the annex were planned as structures that can be expanded to respond to future changes in medical demand.
Registration and Tests on a Single Floor, an Outpatient Area Seen at a Glance — A Layout Centered on User Experience
On the first floor, the lobby is brought together with patient administration, laboratory and pharmacy functions so that registration, payment and blood tests can all be completed on a single floor. The outpatient area on the second floor is organized around a central atrium spanning two floors, so that visitors can see at a glance where they need to go as soon as they enter, and the waiting areas are generous enough not to feel cramped even when patients sit with a caregiver.
The radiology department on the third floor connects directly to the outpatient floor, and its circulation was planned around the flow from imaging tests to endoscopy. The health screening center on the fourth floor secures the area and facilities for a demand of about 120 screenings per day and applies dedicated screening circulation. The main waiting areas are placed by the windows to bring in natural light, and the gynecology area is separated from the other screening spaces to strengthen privacy.
An Indoor Courtyard beside the Wards, a Rooftop Garden for Medical Staff — Landscape as Part of Recovery
The fifth floor will house the surgical department, the sixth floor the inpatient wards and an indoor courtyard, and the seventh floor the staff cafeteria and a rooftop garden. The indoor courtyard is placed on the same floor as the wards so that inpatients can experience nature without leaving the ward. The rooftop garden is linked to the staff cafeteria and planned as a place of rest for medical staff.
This reflects research showing that the hospital environment affects patients’ recovery and the workload of medical staff. In 1984, American environmental psychology researcher Roger Ulrich published findings that patients recovering from surgery in rooms with a window view of trees had shorter hospital stays and used fewer painkillers than patients whose rooms faced a wall. Since then, in the field of evidence-based design (EBD), physical environments that reduce the stress of medical staff have also been treated as a factor directly linked to the quality of care.
A Garden Open 24 Hours and a First-Floor Café — A Place for Everyday Life, Not a Hospital Visited Only When Sick
The second hospital also puts effort into lowering the threshold of the hospital for local residents. A garden open to anyone 24 hours a day is being created, and a café and lounge on the first floor allow people to stay whether or not they are receiving treatment. The intent is to use the hospital not merely as a medical facility but as a public space that local residents visit in their daily lives. Gansam expects these everyday points of contact to help improve access to healthcare.
“Before it is a building, a hospital is a small city where many people gather and come and go,” said Taesang Lee, Director of Healthcare Design at Gansam. “From the very beginning, we considered how patients, caregivers and medical staff would experience the space, and what kind of relationship the hospital would form with the region.” He added, “A hospital is a growing building that begins to change the moment it is completed. We will faithfully bring Gansam’s experience and expertise in healthcare design to this project so that the second hospital is completed as a healthcare hub trusted by local residents and a hospital that grows together with the region.”
Meanwhile, Gansam has continued to design healthcare facilities centered on the patient experience. At the Yonsei Cancer Hospital Heavy Ion Therapy Center, Korea’s first heavy ion cancer treatment facility, it created a sunken court in the underground treatment area so that patients can encounter light and nature. Gansam has also designed numerous healthcare facilities ranging from general hospitals to specialty hospitals, including Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Konyang University New Hospital and The Catholic University of Korea, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital.
Second Hospital of Wonju Yonsei University Health System
· Use: Medical Facility (Hospital), Neighborhood Living Facility
· Location: 1284-2 Gagok-ri, Jijeong-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon State
· Site Area: 17,983㎡
· Gross Floor Area: 11,964㎡
· Floors: B1, 7F (50 beds)
· Scheduled Completion: March 2028
· Design: Gansam
· Competition team
Taesang Lee, Cheonhaeng Kim, Bokyeong Kim, Soohyun Kim,
Sohee Kim, Jaeyun Lee, Myoungryul Lee, Taehyouk Kim,
Mira Kim, Jongwoon Oh, Minseok Kil, Yunsang Shin
· Design team
Bokyeong Kim, Donghoon Lee, Yeonju Kim, Jaeyun Lee, Cheonhaeng Kim, Minhyuk Jun
2026.10.07