Metropolitan Scale / Urban Icon
Project: Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofia
Location: San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain
Date of Implementation: July 2005-2008
Construction M2: 90.000m2
No. Of Beds: 238 beds
No. Operating rooms: 20 operating rooms
Architecture Team: Carmen Navarro Caleya, Inglada & Arevalo Arquitectos
Photographs: Luis Fernández Inglada
Design Criteria
LIGHT:
Sunlight is life. The hospital has been designed so light becomes the center of attention. Buildings resolved with wide structures and open spaces allow light in.
TECHNOLOGY:
Innovation and advances become reality in the management of information as the key element. The hospital born as a place free of paperwork, where assistance is given through net-integrated systems based on connectivity. The internet gains prominence in electronic healthcare: patients can communicate with their doctors via internet, Lowering medical visits.
ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY:
The hospital, as a public construction, is built with public money. Therefore, a commitment is needed in order to keep up architectural quality objectives within a context of extreme demands.
SERMAS (Madrid Health Service) planned the construction of 7 Hospitals (PPP. ACCIONA won the competition for Hospital del Norte and we were charge of the design and supervision of the construction. The Hospital was built in 18 months and used many materials and construction systems for the first time in Hospital Construction in Spain such as prefab cabinet toilets in (Oporto) Portugal, post stressed slabs, light fachade construction, etc. The Functional Plan had two different scenarios 2007 and 2017 so the design should be very flexible and attractive in terms of architecture, colors, materials, etc.
Hospital architecture has suffered an enormous evolution during the past years. This evolution has been put together in several publications such as «The Architecture of hospitals» published by the Netherlands Architectural Institute.
The historic evolution done by Markus Schaeger gathers different examples of hospital architecture and the evolution it has suffered. In this compilation we can find examples of famous architects such as A. Aalto, Le Corbusier, Ahrends Burton and KoraIek, Tadao Ando, Frank Guery, R. Moneo, Venturi Scott Brown, Richard Meier, P. Mangado, Mecanoo, Inglada-Arevalo, E. Herráez, etc. Some of the recent examples used are the Spanish hospitals of Alcorcon, Rio Hortega and the New Hospital of Burgos.
The design methodology applied in hospitals such as Lugo, Valladolid, Burgos or Madrid is valid practically in its totality despite having to introduce certain new elements or emphasize certain existing ones.
Puts together in a conceptual way numerous reflections, observations and personal experiences which are transformed into design criteria that follow the qualities necessary to achieve good architecture. The existence of a direct relation between the way of confronting and solving formal decisions, from the beginning of the process, and the final result are embodied in the technical and constructive solutions that configure the architecture and engineering of hospitals. lt is important to bear in mind the buildings estimate «life cycle» (50-80 years).
