"The hospital was a hospital like any other in a big city. It had a sinister look, bleak, repulsive, of things that are done by necessity, an obligation ... Inside didn't fit the generous impulse of the heart, but the technique, science, the regulation. " Domingos Monteiro - Tales and Drama, Vol, 1943
The text above was the starting point off this project. We were asked to build a pediatric wing on a very damaged XIX century hospital.
The idea was to create a building that didn't look like an hospital, where children and adults felt as if they were at home. An emotional, simple and non clinic, yet efficient space, where blue a white domains, under the doctors colorful clothes.
The interior space is organized by two parallel corridors perforated by skylights, that bring the Atlantic sun inside, and create constant changes on the interior.
The exterior tries to resolve the volumetric relations with the preexisting building, creating a big frame, that holds a playful metalic white facade.
The building should be built in six months and had a very small budget, so we opted for a simple constructive system of concrete pillars and beams with masonry on brick, covered on the outside by ceramics.
In the interiors we used linoleum in walls and floors, to escape of materials and joints conflicts.
The rest just happens in a very free way, just expecting people to feel a little bit better...
