Children rehabilitation center for chronic diseases

New department of the Children rehabilitation center for chronic diseases is located in Šentvid pri Stični. Šentvid is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola known as Stari trg, where the The parish church, from which the settlement gets its name, is dedicated to Saint Vitus (Slovene: sveti Vid). The site for the new hospital department is located in the existing park, surrounded by middle-aged Oak and Plane trees as well as Maple trees. The new hospital is designed for Children and youth with special health care needs – partly for patients with chronic conditions in pediatric intensive care and partly for those with Motoric Disorders.

The concept of the new hospital is trying to change the notion of hospital as isolated building for patient’s healthcare. From this larger context, the contemporary hospital typology is redesigned in order to place a better sensory experience for patients.  New typology, such as human related quality of space, light, human-scaled materials, acoustics and diverse type of social space, follows the principals of domestic places as a »new home«, composed with human attended approach, and forms pleasant building in order to reduce stress in children patients. The social spaces of new hospital are taking into account the residential alternative, in contrast to the notorious anomie of endless hospital corridors or repetitious set of sterile therapy rooms, isolated from social areas.

The social spaces are the most important parts of children hospital facilities because they enable maximum interaction with both parents and others. Namely, when a child is hospitalized, the entire family becomes included in the treatment which means that the hospital becomes a second home for the whole family. Our purpose of new children hospital is therefore designing an institution that is family-oriented. The new design is the result of the research, where we analyzed the connection between the public and the intimate space and developed the object which combined both of these contents/features. The design conceptualize many types of social spaces fulfilled with elements and factors that fits to different children groups and communities. Its design, in terms of legibility of layout, the hierarchy of the parts and the capacity for growth and change, refers to the domestic place building as a paradigm, most evident in the ‘hospital street’ – the ‘main artery’, speaking as a metaphoric reference. Spatial disposition inside of each department, undertakes the type of a residential unit where the corridor becomes the living room with library, place of worship, media corner, play station and a central canteen room transforms in a single family dining room. Communication corridors become the living area from where each patient can access to its individual room. The design of a Hospital is a well-deliberated hierarchy from public to intimate space. The building has subdivided departments that classifies the children patients to smaller groups like family units. Inside of every double bed family unit there is also an ingenious intimate place on extended windowsill as a treehouse. Treehouses are intimate corners for individual child in order to provide the place for retreat, place to find their own peace and their contact to nature. The unique character of these places appeals not only to childhood memories but fulfills desires of intimate meeting place, romanticism, and uniqueness experience.