New into Old: a response to the environmental context An old villa within a listed parkland of mature trees surrounded by the renowned Florentine hills poses more than a design dilemma, let alone when the brief asks to turn the much restrained context into a modern state-of-the-art pediatric centre. The site required high sensitivity towards the environmental and cultural heritage to be transformed and updated with continuity and innovation. Apparently two contrasting aims that CSPE and Anshen + Allen summed up in a mimetic building embedded in the hillside that integrates old and new into a single whole, generating a skillful dialogue between the built and the natural environment. High-technology and environmental sustainability guide the project of the new Meyer Hospital that successfully establish new synergies between the old Ognissanti Villa, the landscape and the new pavilion. Theoretically conceived as a piece of "land-art," the new architecture, observed from high above, shows an innovative topological approach that harmonize the building morphology with the contour lines of the hill, making it appear as a natural element of the land. Despite the imposing volume (76,598 cubic meters), the new pediatric hub blends in with the lush hillside thanks to a strong environmental strategy: to this end, the three floors are tapered and staggered in such a way as to create overhangs with large, landscaped terraces that are "crowned" by a green roof that acts as a healing garden, offering spectacular views of Florence.

Ognissanti Villa and the historical outbuildings The Hospital Entrance is a three story traditional building that has been accurately restored. The reason, explains CSPE, is that “we wanted to create a memory of the past while reducing the stressful impact of a typical hospital structure.” To this end, the arrival into hospital has been diluted through layers of accessibility. Pass the main entrance, one enters a glazed passageway that threads through a “healing garden” that finally leads into the generous atrium space, that stitches together old and new. The project takes on a multitude of design issues ranging from the integration of new technologies to the renovation of the Ognissanti Villa that was built in 1930 as the first Institute in Florence for tuberculosis treatments. The overall plan of the Villa, which is based on a triple-block design, could not be easily altered to meet the needs of a modern-day hospital. Nevertheless, the design valued the cultural heritage of the old structure and integrated into the project the renovation of the three blocks with distinct and separate functions. The east wing hosts the University and research unit, the west wing the outpatient facilities; while, the central block houses the administrative department. The elevations have been painstakingly refurbished in accordance with the principle of restorative conservation, with the exception of the central facade, which is screened by a large greenhouse that floods the new atrium with sunlight. The traditional Tuscan architecture of the villa is enhanced by the new technology that emphasizes efficiency and quality of care.

The New Pavilion and its sustainable innovations The strength of the new Florence children’s hospital lies in the way in which it has overhauled not only the technology but also the culture of hospitalization without compromising the identity of the new architecture in the slightest. A design conceived as a unitary system of green areas, where technology and materials bring about the sustainable balance of the structure high technology and environmental sensitivity are the watchwords of this project; which in 2000 received funding from the EU to accomplish the best sustainable procedures and promote energy saving. A number of eco-friendly solutions have also been implemented both in the renovation of the Villa and in the new Pavilion. Villa Ognissanti features a new ventilated roof, shading devices and façade grills that favour natural ventilation. But the most impressive element is the bio-climatic entrance hall called the “Serra” (greenhouse) that acts as the public face of the hospital. This curved triple-height space, attached to the central wing of the Villa, is an innovative atrium that turns sustainability into a language of materials, textures and colors. The laminated wood pillars display an arrangement, which is reminiscent of the shape of the surrounding trees, while bearing the structure of the photovoltaic panels. The design of the structure resembles the ribs of a whale and brings back memories of the old wooden boy Pinocchio whose story inspired many technical and artwork details. The photovoltaic panels attached to the structure are an example of BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) that enhance the aesthetic of the façade, filter natural light and produce electricity up to 31 kWp. The green roof, besides being a sheltered garden for the little patients, is an innovative high-insulated covering which naturally lower the temperature inside the hospital by several degrees and therefore plays a leading role over the energy balance of the building. Conical skylights pierce the roof, called "cappelli di Pinocchio" (Pinocchio’s hats), that together with the 47 "solatubes," provide the interiors with natural lighting. The solatubes inbuilt in the ceilings are structured by polycarbonate spherical sections whose inner surface is characterized by Raybender and Light Interceptive Transfer Device (LITD) technologies which direct even the lowest angled sun rays into the extension channels, reducing light refractions. The good climate conditions and the building orientation maximize natural light and the visual relationship with the landscape, letting patients to perceive its changes, the time and seasons passing by, and reducing one's sense of isolation. Quality of light and lighting play a fundamental role for the environmental and psychological well-being. In order to improve the integration between artificial and natural light sources, the design team has used automatic electronic systems able to record light changes and lux levels. Design and technical solutions are therefore joined towards the single aim of utmost energy savings.

Orientation and Functions According to a holistic vision of architecture, CSPE and A+A have been fusing together the complexity of the functional organization settled with the introduction of open, bright, comfortable and non-hierarchical spaces, accessibility, orientation easiness, and the basic principles of the distributive logic starting from the entrance and the external public route. Thanks to a wide parking area, the entire hospital campus is conceived as a car-free unitary system of green areas where way-finding is a constant priority that shows how the physical environment responds to a people-centered design. Two glass enclosed staircases link the old Villa with the new circulation, which is separated according to users: staff, visitors, patients, and goods. Each level hosts compatible functions, according to the following uses: in the basement - the plants and a multicultural spiritual space; on the ground floor - first aid, outpatients departments, imaging, as well as reception, shops and cafeteria; on the first floor - the operating area with seven theatre suites and intensive, specialized care units. The patient focused areas are on the second floor and partially on the first floor (polifunctional intensive care, infectious diseases and isolation ward). The ward arrangement has been conceived with the priority of maximum future flexibility and adaptability. The patients’ rooms are concentrated on one side, while on the other; there are all the medical services. This layout creates a central distributive space of variable width, in which there are four work areas for the staff. It is a “cluster” scheme with a curving circulation spine that removes the oppressive feeling of the institutional narrow corridor and offers a more open and friendly way to live and work in a hospital. In front of each of the four open space working areas there are four common play areas for the little patients (each of 60 sqm.). The top level features the glass "toy library" that characterises the imposing roof garden and allows constant visual relationship with the natural environment all around. The innovation ward layout creates two pertinent areas by the patient room: an exterior one delineated by the overhang which can be used as a protected open space, and an interior one overlooking the distribution area, offering a secluded space and a meeting point for parents and doctors. All rooms are provided with double windows: one overlooking the landscape; the other, to discretely oversee the patients. The rooms (30 sqm. for the double room, 24 sqm. for the single) are equipped with sofa-beds to allow parents a comfortable stay with their children. So, the hospital building becomes an innovative, sustainable space which transforms the way of living and managing healthcare spaces. Materials, light, visual art and the landscape perception concur to create a harmonious and positive physical as well as a psychological atmosphere which improves the culture of children’s hospital thanks to new criteria beyond the strictly functionalist agenda.

A research driven design: a healing environment in a hospital for children The innovative methodology uses the best evidence regarding light, sound, art, air quality, color and nature. The interiors have therefore been enriched with play corners, recreation areas, colorful signage and works of art everywhere designed to make the children feel more at home and less like they’re in a hospital. This approach determines important benefits which concerns even therapeutic dynamics; it is in fact scientifically proven that the environmental well-being positively interacts with medical treatment times and modalities. The new Meyer pediatric hospital in Florence is the outcome of an inter-disciplinary team that shared the challenge to create a patient-focused place. In order to provide support and monitoring for the development of the project, the Meyer Foundation was set up in 2000. The Foundation endeavours to serve as a point of reference for all the professionals and technicians who are responsible for ensuring the best possible quality of life for children, as well as the most advanced forms of treatment. The new Meyer in Florence is one of the first successful examples of a form of experimentation whereby the architecture interprets the perception of space through infant psychology in order to create a true hospital for children, or in other words – a hospital for the future.