Spain’s Hospital Sant Joan de Reus Infuses the Urban Environment With Green Space

The bright, spacious, and bold geometric forms of the Hospital Sant Joan de Rues are just what the doctor ordered. The new facility in Rues, Spain outside of Barcelona is part of a fresh wave of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/hospital">hospitals</a> that focus on encouraging healing through natural daylighting and comfortable living spaces. Designed by Barcelona-based <a href="http://mariocorea.com/" target="_blank">Mario Corea Arquitectura</a>, the linear hospital fits in with its surrounding urban environment while working hard to infuse it with vital spaces like gardens and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/green-roof">green roofs</a>.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/riverside-medical-center-gets-a-gorgeous-new-green-roofed-addition/">hospital</a> is composed of a series of six rectangular volumes that shoot off at perpendicular angles to the main corridor.

A large angled roof optically reduces the size of the building.

These narrow volumes sit on top of administration and technical facilities, creating space for light and air to reach into the patient corridors.

Clad in white tile, the hospital has a refreshingly light aesthetic, and it is connected with the surrounding city through multiple access points around its perimeter.

Smaller atria offer entrances on a more human scale, which link up to a larger circulation corridor that connects to the patient wings.

In between each patient wing is a large <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/green-roof">green roof</a> that is visible and accessible from patients' rooms.

These green roofs sit above more facilities below and are punctuated with skylights and light wells that pull natural daylight down into the space.

Gardens surrounding the hospital infuse the urban environment with even more nature.

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/louvers">Louvers</a> on one of the south-facing facades protects the interior from overheating while allowing in light, while the large angled white facade shields the main corridor.

Mario Corea Arquitectura received the NAN Award in 2010 for Best Energy Integration in Architecture.

Patient's room.

Patient wings and nurse's station.

Operating room.