The site occupies a sloping terrain overlooking the sublime landscape of Val di Fiemme. The surrounding urban fabric has a small scale; the historic buildings of Cavalese are embellished with frescoes and meticulous inlays in wood. all these refer to a home scale and handicraft dimension, both in materials and formal qualities. The buildable project area was up to 30%, which means that most of the site should be destined for green and usable areas. Considering the particular geographic framing, the project seeks to strengthen and emphasize the relationship between architecture, program and landscape.
The search for a human and domestic scale, a strong identity and a sustainable architecture led us to the definition of a single volume with a central courtyard that recalls cloisters and the typology of the first «hospitals».
The volume is subdivided horizontally into three levels by merging similar programs and favouring the horizontal development of all major connections. The internal layout separates the paths of staff, patients, visitors, dirty material and clean material. The quality reserved for circulation spaces encourages relationships between staff and patients and promotes the perception of an unexpected domestic scale.
The compositional process has seen the person and his well-being at the center of every design choice, conceiving the hospital as a place for the community as well as individuals. The design principles decided play a key role in the well-being of patients, visitors and operators. Volume, form and materiality of the project for the New Hospital of Cavalese are born with this purposes in mind.