The Project
The new hospital, with its 520 beds, is located in an impressive panoramic position amongst olive groves above the town of La Spezia.
The design makes the most of the south facing site turning towards the sea by adopting a fan shaped geometry which opens up to the views. A reduction in the provision of beds is compensated by the provision of generous day care facilities, wards designed as continuous spaces for future flexibility, with mostly two beds per room.
Additional activities, such as the emergency services, a congress center, shops and restaurant are also included in the scheme. The plan arrangement ensures visitors to follow a comprehensible route everywhere. A large atrium forms a covered public ‘piazza’ with café and shops from which visitors gain access to the upper floors via lift cores and waiting areas on the exterior of the building, thereby allowing a consistent sense of direction, which is often lacking in modern hospitals. Flanking the central atrium, two large planted courtyards further enhance the connection between built form and the landscape
The eight-storey building is organized horizontally with the first two floors accommodating the most publicly accessible functions, the next three floors are destined for high technology, whilst the wards are located on the top three floors. The project also includes a free-standing radiotherapy building and around 750 parking spaces carefully concealed in a series of landscaped terraces.
