MESA DEL CASTILLO HOSPITAL
Murcia, 2004
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Mention
XIII Premios de Arquitectura de la Región de Murcia, 2005
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A prefabricated concrete shell gives the necessary isolation (acoustic, thermal, psychological) to protect the building from the surrounding environment. The building’s exterior -with a hard, solid appearance- is dry constructed with industrial materials (reinforced concrete and COR-TEN steel), similar to a perforated box, and encloses an interior full of light and colour, due to the square inner patio of 15 m2 accessible for visitors. The patio, a quiet and calm place is isolated from the external noise, from the traffic and from the urban landscape of Ronda Sur main road, which runs in front of the hospital and is always busy.
The rust marks and damp patches visible on the exterior show the ageing of the shell and how the inexorable environment attacks the building, evoking the protective mission that it has been given with regards to the interior. The most important objective in this project was to dignify a place usually identified with pain and suffering, as well as a distrust for a medical practice far too bureaucratic and that in many occasions denies patients the right to participate in their own healing process, which Ivan Llich called “expropriation of health”.
We tried to build a place that helps people in this process, knowing that to efficiently resolve the complex functional structure that a hospital requires is not enough. It is a well known fact, one that has been proved by much research that a patient’s state of mind during the healing process is of utmost importance. In a habitat many factors determine the psychological state of its occupants: the climate conditions, the light, the view, the surrounding constructions, etc.
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Design Credits:
Architecture and interior design by CLAVEL ARQUITECTOS in colaboration with Miguel Mesa del Castillo
Partners in Charge: Manuel Clavel Rojo / Luis Clavel Sainz
Photography: David Frutos (BISimages)
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