The hospital's various departments all differ in their dimensions, form and expression. The wards have one kind of architectural expression, while the treatment departments have another, and the children's clinic has an expression all its own. This helps to create a varied visual experience, while at the same time making it easy to find your way around.

The design of the complex reveals the influence of the high priority given to daylight for all workplaces, views of the surrounding landscape, and contact with the outside environment. A glass-covered main thoroughfare, in which wood is the dominating material, links the various buildings and functions. This glass street forms the hospital's main arterial route, and is structured as a series of open spaces of differing character, offering various functions such as kiosk, pharmacy, hairdresser, church and café.

The short distances between the functions, the clear organisation and the modern technology give the staff more time for their patients.

The extension of the hospital’s emergencies department was completed in 2014. Work on Akershus University Hospital will continue with a number of refurbishments and extensions throughout the period of the framework agreement, which lasts until 2015.