Khammouane Provincial Hospital Masterplan
Thakhek / Laos
Why this project matters
The Khammouane Provincial Hospital sits on the banks of the Mekong River in Thakhek, a city in central Laos near the Thai border. The hospital has served its community for over a hundred years, but that history has come at a cost: decades of incremental growth have left the campus with over 30 buildings of wildly variable quality, a fragmented layout and strained infrastructure that makes navigation difficult for patients and staff alike.
LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency, commissioned Article 25 to develop a masterplan that would bring strategic organisation to this complexity - identifying a clear path to modernise the hospital's infrastructure, improve patient care and consolidate services in a way that works both now and into the future. The result is a phased, flexible roadmap for the hospital's transformation, presented to the hospital, the provincial government and LuxDev's teams earlier this year. This is a significant milestone, and one we are proud to share.
The design
The masterplan organises the hospital's future development across four phases, allowing the hospital to continue operating throughout construction. Phase 1 - now moving into full design - is the new Acute Care Building: a three-storey, approximately 5,000 sqm building that will become the new face of Khammouane Provincial Hospital.
The building brings together the hospital's most critical services under one roof: a main entrance with registration, payments and information; an Outpatient Department (OPD) with specialist and dental clinics; an Emergency Room (ER) with dedicated ambulance access; an Intensive Care Unit (ICU); a full Operating Theatre suite with endoscopy; and a pharmacy. Shell space on the upper level allows for future laboratory expansion.
The design draws heavily on Laos' tropical climate. Buildings are oriented east-west to minimise solar gain, with solar shading, planted courtyards, open shaded walkways and mixed-mode ventilation reducing reliance on mechanical cooling. Locally sourced, durable materials reflect the local building tradition and ensure the hospital can be built and maintained with local skills and capacity. PV solar panels on the roof will supplement power supply.
Phases 2 through 4 of the Masterplan provide for a new Clinical Care Building (housing imaging, maternity and mother and child health (MCH)), a consolidated Support Services block, modernised inpatient wards delivering close to 300 beds, and the long-term renovation and repurposing of the campus's existing building stock.
The delivery
Article 25 worked in close collaboration with the hospital's clinical staff, LuxDev and local partners throughout the masterplan process - consulting with every department to understand how services actually operate and what adjacencies matter most. The concept design for the Acute Care Building has been developed through that same dialogue, with the design team travelling to Laos to present proposals and incorporate feedback directly from the people who will use the building every day.
We are working alongside UK services engineers Hoare Lea and Lao Consulting Group - our structural, civil and cost partners on the ground - to progress the full design. Construction is targeted to begin before the end of 2026.
PROJECT PARTNERS: LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency, Khammouane Provincial Hospital
DESIGN TEAM: Lao Consulting Group (Structural + Civil Engineers, Cost Consultants), Hoare Lea (Services Engineers)
STATUS: Design
The Health and Nutrition Programme (LAO/035) is financed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR and LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.
