Monterroso Health Centre
Spain CCC ES
Abalo Alonso Arquitectos
2014
Type
Health Care
Tags
spaces of care , Spain ccc
Visitability
Allowed
Description
Famous for its annual fair, which has been held on All Saints’ Day for more than 500 years, Monterroso is a small village in the interior of the province of Lugo. As is often the case, the health centre serves an area that extends beyond the village itself and has a predominantly older population. The location of the bus stop at the north-western end of the block is therefore of great importance, and perhaps less so the possible connection with the nearby City Hall to the north-east. The building occupies the entire plot. To the east and south it borders urban streets, while to the west it is adjacent to a small green area which it shares with the bus stop. The building is slightly sunken, allowing sunlight to flood into the street above and encouraging its interpretation as a wall, which is more in keeping with the rural setting in which it is located. In this sense, both the existing slope and the location of the bus stop suggest level access to the building from the southwest corner. The entrance floor comprises a number of areas: to the south, the paediatric area; to the north, the primary care doctors’ offices; and in the centre, the reception desk and ancillary services behind it. Two volumes emerge from the solid construction: the doctors’ private area, with a double-height void above the main entrance; and a skylight which, with the recesses on the west elevation, enlivens the waiting area. In addition to this, four courtyards nuance the relationship between the indoors and out. The basement floor contains the women’s health, physiotherapy and dentistry areas, as well as the facilities, which are lit and ventilated by the above mentioned English courtyards, which also favour privacy. The building features a continuous slate cladding covering all its façades and roofs, interrupted only by a series of openings in galvanised steel strategically located to act as entrances, courtyards and voids, contrasting with the warm oak used in the interior spaces.(Description provided by the architects)