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As cited in literature, the history of hospital design in both practice and theory is rife with proposals that lay claim to improving efficiency.The overall aim was to obtain not only lowest possible construction, maintenance and operational costs, but also highest possible patient satisfaction,comfort and privacy. Nested within this outlook, the design of hospital nursing units has claimed considerable priority. Significant in such an endeavour is timely feedback to the designer, especially as quantitative assessments of what has been achieved so far with respect to planimetric efficiency; i.e. utility value of built floor area, both in terms of its allocation to served, serving and circulation spaces and the relative proportions of these. This book focuses on the nursing units of public facilities located in Turkey. Data derived from planimetric measurements regarding their nursing units and of various germane ratios calculated. It was concluded that while the method used was appropriate to the assessment in question, further investigations were needed to determine the causes underlying such differences.

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Zehra Tu ‡e Kazanasmaz, PhD: Studied Building Science at Middle East Technical University. Architect at a construction company in Ankara. Now, instructor in Department of Architecture at zmir Institute of Technology, zmir,Turkey

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