How many years can hospital master plans be effective

This paper considers the effectiveness of master planning for hospitals based on recent surveys carried out in the UK and Japan. In the UK, Northwick Park Hospital, built in the 1970s, was selected for surveys in 1999 and 2002 because of being a typical example representing John Weeks' 1960s concept of 'indeterminate architecture' to cope with growth and change. In Japan, the Chiba Cancer Center, also built in the 1970s, was selected to survey in 2002 because of being a good example of a 'multi-wing type' configuration developed in Japan for growth and change. The paper concludes with the determination that the master plans for both these hospitals have been generally successful, despite the fact that changes were often not anticipated by the architectural proposals. In addition, it is seen that a master plan can be effective for at least a period of 30 years given certain conditions.