The Meyers Pediatric Hospital in Florence, Italy is an exceptional sustainable design that harnesses architecture to help the healing process. The complex is located in a park-like setting and consists of an early 20th century building updated with a new sustainable wing. With an extensive green roof, robust daylighting, and copious art and open space the hospital provides an ideal environment for healing.
The Hospital has taken many efforts to provide comfort for its young patients. They first enter the original restored complex — Romano Del Nord of architecture firm CSPE explains: “we wanted to create a memory of the past while reducing the stressful impact of a typical hospital structure.” Patients then take a covered path through a central garden that leads to the new building’s extensive atrium. Filled with light and art, the atrium’s supporting columns spread out like trees. The upper glass has embedded solar electric panels to provide energy and reduce glare.
The new building is set into the hillside and tiered to mix with the landscape. The effect is further enhanced by the green roof, which covers most of the building. The upper atrium features a play area that opens to the green roof to allow the children to remain connected to the outdoors. 47 “Pinocchio Hats” dot the roof — these are actually solar tubes that feed natural light into the building. The complex was developed under the European Union’s Energie Program and has successfully reduced its energy consumption by a whopping 62% for HVAC and 80% for electrical compared to a typical hospital. We couldn’t be more impressed by this beautiful hospital that also helps heal the planet.
