BIONICA is designed to avoid the narrow approach of solving only one healthcare delivery issue, but rather — by making use of advancements in modularity and mobility — solving many. This approach presents the best opportunity to change the industry in its entirety, rather than component by component.

BIONICA consists of depositories of healing modules, connecting services to patients within its mobile, robotic frames — serving the true purpose of hospitals: to heal patients.

Nature Combined with Modularity and Mobility

The healing journey begins and ends at the patient's home. At the hospital, mobile service modules deliver care to patients and allow resources to be utilized with higher efficiency. Modularity and mobility allow for pooling of resources across regional hospitals. Repair and replacements can occur without impacting the hospital. The same system can apply in both large urban centres and small neighbourhoods. Services like labour and delivery would safely occur at a patient's home.

Under a patient-centric approach, pods containing services are brought to the patient’s own healing environment where they are already comfortable. They are infused with nature, creating a peaceful and safe environment. Instead of moving the sick or injured patients all over the hospital, automated robotics move pods of services in an open structural frame requiring little lighting and no space conditioning, which reduces overall energy requirements and resource demand.

Detach and Dispatch Delivery of Care

Modularity and mobility of the hospital components allow pieces of the hospital to be detached and dispatched where needed, hosted on a driveway on standby for labour and delivery, in a smaller-scale community hub or swarmed to a nearby emergency. Parts of the hospital can be serviced, renewed or swapped out without disrupting hospital functions.

The mobile patient pod can detach from the hospital to pick up and drop off patients and is equipped with a sound and vibration isolation ring to ensure the comfort of the patient. The pod attaches to the structural frame by a mobility ring and docks with the stationary patient pod. Inside the structural frame, stationary patient pods connect with various service and other support pods that enable caregivers to treat the patient upon arrival. The entire structure is enveloped in nature at the healing zone, with gardens at each level adjacent to docking stations, as well as medicinal gardens intermittently positioned next to patient pods. The accordion-grid structure can grow as needed and allows different pods to navigate to where they are needed most.

BIONICA Fits Everywhere, For Everyone

BIONICA is a true living building that heals people and the environment. Healing gardens act as urban conditioners to reduce urban heat gain, while a photovoltaic panel system generates power for emergency use. Medicinal gardens purify the air for both patients and the surrounding community, while rainwater is harvested for greywater or emergency use. Like all living organisms, BIONICA is made of many microcosms of living systems. The air-filtration system uses soil and medicinal plants to clean and condition the air. Medicinal gardens act as patients’ private sanctuaries for mental and physical health. 

BIONICA is flexible and adaptable. It can fit everywhere, for everyone, at all scales. The soul of the project is putting patients at the centre, returning the hospital to a place of healing, and allowing the healing modules to permeate all corners and all aspects of society.