A new beginning, built on coherence
The New Reims Hospital is one of France’s largest health infrastructure projects. Set 150 kilometres east of Paris, it will bring together care, teaching and research in a modern, purpose-built precinct.
Until now, the campus was fragmented. Buildings were ageing, operations stretched across disconnected sites, and the patient experience reflected that. With the redevelopment, CHU Reims is consolidating activity into two new buildings and reworking key parts of the existing hospital, creating a functional, future-ready medical campus.
Project
New Reims Hospital
Client
Collaborators
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims
Agence d'architecture Pargade
Location
Reims, France
Size
Project Build Cost
Focus
Moving over 30 departments in less than a year was just the start. Demolitions, staged openings, and evolving clinical operations meant the wayfinding system had to do more than catch up. It had to keep pace with ongoing change.
Our brief was clear: patients should be able to follow their way, not search for it. And the hospital should have a system that remains usable and adaptable over time.
What we did
We developed a site-wide wayfinding strategy to support all stages of transition: interim relocations, progressive openings, and final steady state. To do this, we started with an audit of all access points, decision points and arrival sequences. We interviewed staff from reception, communications, clinical, logistics and support teams to understand how patients move, what questions they ask, and where systems break down.
Together with CHU Reims, we moved away from traditional service-based signage, which becomes quickly outdated when departments relocate, and introduced an address-based navigation system, following urban logic.
The result
We created a system that supports users and operations at every stage of transformation:
Patients and staff navigate using building and address numbers, which remain stable even if departments move.
Service names are still visible where needed, but they no longer drive the system. This gives the hospital flexibility to adapt.
A full site addressing plan underpins signage, digital platforms, and future development.
The strategy was developed alongside the construction phasing, enabling staged rollout without creating confusion. It gives the hospital control over how to guide people, when, and where, without having to redesign the system every time something shifts.
This system provides a robust foundation for navigation, built to evolve alongside the hospital.
Image credit: © Agence d'architecture Pargade
