architecture buzz!!

Photographs: Efraín Pintos (© gpy arquitectos)

Surprisingly at least for me to find that this simple form architecture is the Medical Clinic.  This is a small, humble yet communicate its purpose well with community and embedded smoothly in Tenerife urban fabric. Designed by gpy arquitectos, here is from the architects:

This small outpatient clinic is located in the town of Ravelo, a small community in a distinctively rural environment that occupies an outstanding hillside position, on the island of Tenerife.The building has been designed on two levels, both with street-level pedestrian access. The main floor is occupied by the medical surgeries, while the lower floor houses administrative areas and multipurpose spaces for community activities.

Photographs: Efraín Pintos (© gpy arquitectos)
Its main entrance has been adapted to the steep slope of the street and virtually extends the public space right into the building, which in turn projects it back out through the large panoramic window adjoining the waiting room.

[View with PicLens]

The building is characterised by a dialogue between the external, concrete frame, open along the north-south axis, which constitutes an easily recognised, abstract landmark and lends the building its urban presence, and a continuous internal wooden skin which transforms the framed empty space into a series of rooms, separating the areas for specific use from the public ones such as the reception area and waiting room.

A system of folding shutters along the southern facade regulates the entry of sunlight – a feature which lends the building its bioclimatic character while at the same time offering optimal lighting conditions for the workspaces; natural light is filtered and reflected on coloured surfaces, so as to create a comfortable, warm atmosphere.

To the north, the concrete frame embraces the distant countryside, incorporating it into the everyday life of the clinic through the panoramic window, converting the waiting area into a room with panoramic views, a therapeutic space, directly connected with the landscape.

Photographs: Efraín Pintos (© gpy arquitectos)

[View with PicLens]

Location:         Calle Hoya de la Viuda s/n, Ravelo
District:            El Sauzal, Tenerife. Spain
Use:            Outpatients Clinic
Client:             Gobierno de Canarias: Consejer?a de Sanidad y Consumo
(Canary Islands Government: Health and Consume Council)
Bldg. Area:             706 m2
Photographs:        Efraín Pintos (© gpy arquitectos)