03_THE URBAN PLANNING

The hospital’s circulation system supports all the internal traffic. A lot of m2 are assigned to internal circulations. These circulations must be maintained during the building’s “life cycle”. Traditionally all the areas and services had the possibility of being connected to each other. This meant the circulation system was repeated on practically every level; everything was connected to everything.

In the Infanta Sofia Hospital and the New Burgos Hospital the inpatient care areas have been connected with the treatment and diagnose areas in 2 levels. If in specific points connections are needed footbridges have been installed.

This decision has reduced the m2 assigned to circulations and consequently shorter construction timings and more energy savings.

Here we can see the inpatients care towers with no upper floor connections between them.

As cities streets, the hospital corridors must be “clear”, well signaled and well referenced so that users don’t feel lost (way finding). Based on the amount of traffic hospitals internals circulations must be divided in the following categories:

• Public Circulations: No restrictions.
• Staff Controlled circulations: treatment and diagnose areas. These areas have their independent vertical nuclei.
• Supply Circulations: These circulations generally coincide with the distribution of the electrical and mechanical services. They are generally on the lower storeys and basements.

All these circulations converge in a public space: The hospitals “plaza. This plaza is generally situated where the main entrance is. It’s a great meeting point where you can find the “commercial zone” and is near different areas such as information point, admission or the coffee shop.

The interior of this space is generally endowed with art pieces in order to transmit an institutional image of a great modern public space with architectural quality. These spaces receive hundreds of visitors everyday. These spaces can be used as stage to new artist by housing art exhibitions, cultural manifestations...

This way treating these spaces was first one in the Hospital of Alcorcon and has been a reference for other hospitals such as the Infanta Sofia Hospital.

The Landscape also plays a fundamental part in this type of buildings. We treats each landscape with care and according to the needs of each location and each project.

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