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Architects: Estudi PSP Arquitectura
- Year: 2012
Text description provided by the architects. This is a unique project in the General Hospital building. The intervention arises from the need to rationalize and concentrate the different surgical and post-operation recovery areas, as well as the desire to create a new vertical communication core to expedite the transfer of patients and solve the crossed circulation with the public.
Given the lack of free space within the Medical Campus of Vall d'Hebron and the apparent functional need to connect the new surgical and ICU areas with hospitalizations areas, the option of placing two medical plans and a technical plan above the back wings of the existing building was raised.
For structural reasons, we design a constructive solution that does not transmit any vertical loads onto the structure of the old building, but uses it as a bracing core. Thus, the new slabs are supported by pillars outside the building, and large span girders (7m and 26.4 m), parallel to the facades, remain exposed outside of the enclosures. On these, perpendicular and at the technical plan level, others girders are supported, from which hang the pillars that hold the slabs, thus forming a bridge that prevents the transmission of loads onto the existing building.
The new vertical core (11 stories high) is located in one of the courtyards, at the center of gravity of the building, connecting all the hospitalization floors and emergency with the new surgical and critical care units block, without crossing with the public circulation.
The enclosures are designed with large format sandwich panels, made of lacquered steel similar in color to the exposed structure of the building. In general, all materials used are light and for dry construction, minimizing weights and inconvenience to the lower floors, which have remained in use at all times.
Because of the difficulty involved in the execution of projects of this magnitude in a hospital in use, due to the the growing medical and technological demands, and the needs to update certain facilities of the existing building, we have proposed an amended project and four complementary projects during the construction, delaying its execution time.
