Ten yeas after: DuPont Corian® stands
the test of time in Geneva Hospital operating complex
June 2005 - Ten years ago, in 1995, Geneva’s cantonal University Hospital built
a new state-of-the-art block of operating theatres. Covering 81,000 square
metres, the seven-storey ‘Opera’ complex was meticulously designed to meet the
extraordinary demands of the operating theatre environment, using materials that
offered hygiene, durability, practicality and ergonomics.
DuPont™ Corian® solid surface - an exclusive product from DuPont – was one
of such materials. Used extensively in the design, Corian® was selected by
architects Nierle, Grand, Praplan & Associates for its hygienic benefits and
physical properties. Now, after ten years, Corian® is undamaged, despite heavy
daily use by staff and patients. Its ability to withstand bacterial growth and its
ease of cleaning and maintenance, continue to be valued by the hospital’s staff.
The ‘Opera’ block houses a variety of services from operations, exercise, wake-
up and resuscitation to supplies. The advanced medical technology employed in
the block includes a medical-technical platform, consisting of a wake-up room
with 22 beds, a surgical intensive care unit with 26 beds and a 4,340 square metre
surgery block with eight operating theatres.
Corian® has been used in the ‘Opera’ block to create wall and ceiling linings in
the operating theatres and anaesthetist’s rooms, babies’ changing tables and
baths, partitions for treatment cubicles, and work surfaces in the pathology
laboratory.
In all these applications, the inherent hygiene of Corian® has provided a safe
environment. Homogenous and non-porous, Corian® cannot be penetrated by
liquids, and is solid all the way through, providing a crevice-free surface that
does not harbour bio-hazardous pathogens. Body fluids can be removed with
hose-down cleaning and even low-level radioactive contamination can be easily
removed. In laboratories, Corian® is neutral and not easily affected b