Once described by the Chinese media as a hospital that "smogs up", the new surgical and emergency center of San Rafael Hospital in Milan was completed.
San Rafael Hospital Milan is the most recognized in Italy and even in Europe. One of the prestigious medical centers, focusing on humanized medical care, creating a safe and comfortable medical environment, and building a green hospital in a sustainable way.
Iceberg Hospital
The new 10-storey building, named "Iceberg" due to its unique shape, is part of Milan's important medical system, the University of Life and Health of San Rafael and the affiliated San Rafael Hospital.
Considering that the dense building complex in the area was mostly built in the seventies and eighties of the 19th century, the style is very different. As an expansion of an existing hospital, vertical development replaces horizontal expansion.
The curved façade makes concessions to the city boundary, presenting a highly open and transparent attitude, allowing the building to naturally integrate into the surrounding environment.
The slender louvers that extend upwards visually reduce the volume and incorporate a light design language in a high-density urban environment, making the tower form a "floating feeling" above the podium base, which is instantly recognizable and a new benchmark for medical architecture.
The project consists of two architecturally and functionally complementary parts: a podium that houses the basic functions of the hospital, such as operating theatres, intensive care units and emergency rooms; and towers housing patient rooms, doctors' offices, and outpatient clinics.
To exceed international cutting-edge standards, we meet the growing demand of patients for state-of-the-art medical technology, comprehensive care and a warm medical environment.
The building plan is concise, approximately rectangular, the whole is practical as the standard, reasonable layout of space, and detailed control of process layout, functional room setting, etc.: such as placing the functional room with heavier medical equipment on the ground floor as much as possible, effectively reducing the early construction cost and the later operation labor cost and energy consumption cost.
The efficient and smooth flow process can greatly improve the operational efficiency of the hospital and alleviate the pressure and contradiction of medical treatment. All rooms are naturally lit and ventilated, which greatly reduces the hospital's operating costs.
The designer said that the design, space quality, natural light, color, etc. of the ward and public areas allow patients to meet their treatment needs while still gaining a sense of identity and sincere respect for their own identity. This is the starting point of architectural humanistic care.
The humanistic care of the healing space
The slight curvature on the façade distinguishes the outside view of the ward from the rest while improving the penetration of natural light in the central area of the façade.
The ethereal exterior of the white glass façade introduces a sense of calm, chasing with daylight and lighting up the night sky. The building becomes the center of the entire campus, blending function and aesthetics, and is known as a "place of healing".
In keeping with the characteristics of the façade structure, glass public living rooms are set up at the four corners of the building, providing a space for patients and their families to meet, rest, pray and encourage each other informally.
In winter, these spaces act as solar greenhouses, reducing the need for indoor heating. In summer, air conditioning and façade shades meet the need for comfort and temperature control.
Natural elements such as light and greenery are integrated into the design to create green spaces open to wards and offices, improving the quality of the healthcare environment and the well-being of users.
The roof garden above the podium provides an outdoor retreat for users and creates a landscape platform for dialogue with nature.
From the ever-changing natural environment, stimulate the positive emotions of users and eliminate physical and mental obstacles. At the same time, large-scale greening can alleviate atmospheric dust, purify the air, and reduce carbon emissions.
The white "skin" like an iceberg is not a gimmick, but an advanced anti-fog ceramic louver system with materials that reduce air pollution and reflect the sun's rays.
Sustainable design strategies
The new surgical and emergency centre features an all-glass façade with a skin woven from high-height vertical ceramic louvers with dual bioclimatic functions. The width of the louvers changes following the path of the sun, providing shade indoors.
Louvers cast shadows on the glass surface, helping to reduce the heat load caused by solar radiation and reducing the energy demand of indoor spaces for air conditioning.
At the same time, through the reflection of the ceramic surface, more natural light enters the room. The ceramic louver uses a special titanium dioxide catalytic coating that traps atmospheric pollution particles that are inertized by the sun's rays and then washed away by atmospheric precipitation.
The material plays an active role in the building's surroundings, promoting the conversion of ozone into oxygen molecules, known as a building that "smogs up".
Adhering to the principles of green building, indoor materials are selected to meet the best standards of health and hygiene, and are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to create a healthier and safer environment.
The interior finish is made of antibacterial stoneware panels, a material that combines high mechanical strength and durability and inhibits the multiplication of microorganisms harmful to health.
Furniture and bathroom fixtures are also meticulously designed: the former is made of formaldehyde-free, eco-sustainable materials, while the latter is treated with an antimicrobial coating on washbasins in bathrooms, patient rooms and consultation rooms.
Renewable materials and greenery are used both indoors and outdoors to improve air quality and provide a comfortable and healing environment for patients, families, visitors and healthcare workers.
The design of the building aims to pursue sustainable concepts that are closely related to the quality of the hospital space and its human requirements. MCA combines design aesthetics, medical functionality, natural symbiosis and green technology to create a warm healing atmosphere with perception, confidence and sense of belonging, and realize the dual healing of patients' "physiological" and "psychological".
Project drawings
△ General floor plan
△Elevation view
△Elevation view
△Elevation view
△Profile view
△Large sample of details