NORD Architects: Healing Architecture

NORD_health-1

NORD [Northern Office for Research and Design] Architects have recently been named the winners of a competition to design a new healthcare center for cancer patients in Copenhagen. Run in collaboration with the Danish Cancer Society, the project was inspired by “Maggie’s Centre” in Great Britain – and will function as an independent institution that provides cancer patients and their families with counseling and rehabilitation.

NORD_health-5

[note: this image was cropped from the preceding image, to show more detail]

Founded on the principles of ‘healing architecture’, the center has been specifically designed so as not to resemble a hospital / typical health institution – instead using massing elements suggesting the form of a house [or series or houses]. Conceptually this is intended to both make visitors/users feel more at ease, while also creating an iconic structure that will be recognizable within the community.

“This is a very meaningful assignment to us and we have given a proposal that expresses and defines itself as a new typology between a house and an institution.”

~ Johannes Pedersen and Morten Rask Gregersen, partners at NORD

NORD_health-2

This saw-toothed gabled roofline runs around the perimeter of the center, forming a central courtyard which can be accessed from a number of locations – creating a public, interior garden area that connects the interior spaces of the project [there’s even a climbing wall, seen in the image below]. A series of balconies open off of this central space, further connecting the building with its site and surrounding neighborhood.

NORD_health-4

[note: this image was cropped from the preceding image, to show more detail]

NORD_health-3

And this is yet another example of the current popularity / trend of the iconic gabled roof structure – this time applied to a building that contains no housing at all. So far I’m still into it – but maybe that’s because I’ve yet to come across a project that completely fails in its use of the gables. We’ll see. I’m a fan of this project, regardless – based on the limited information I have [just these images and a few paragraphs of text] I think the project looks as if it could be pretty dope – time will tell.

And is it just me, or is this slightly reminiscent of BIG’s Tallinn’s New City Hall project? Just a little bit…

::all images, info + quotes courtesy of NORD Architects/MIR::

Posted: October 14th, 2009
at 11:38am by orangemenace

Tagged with , ,


Categories: architecture,featured ninjas

Comments: 2 comments



 

2 Responses to 'NORD Architects: Healing Architecture'

Subscribe to comments with RSS or TrackBack to 'NORD Architects: Healing Architecture'.

  1. Interesting. I like how the recognizable vernacular form of the gabled roof is rendered in minimalist modern construction. Also, even though it is only one building, the multiple peaks gives it the sense of a textured city block.

     

  2. […] space, further connecting the building with its site and surrounding neighbourhood. Link Via [AMNP] This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 amand is filed under art, […]

     


 

Leave a Reply