THE SPINE AS A CIRCULATION SYSTEM: Public healthcare facility in Brasilia
Honorable Mention in national competition promoted by the Housing Development Company of the Federal District (CODHAB-DF), Brasília, Brazil.
Authors: Ana Rolim, Fábio Cordeiro, and Ana Rolim. Interns: Mariana Queiroz, Mateus Gibson, Natália Barreto, and Vinícius Lemos.
The competition briefing asked for the design of a public healthcare facility located in a new planned town in the outskirts of Brasília, the political capital of Brazil.
Understanding the circulation system as the spine of a building and driving inspiration from the elongated shape of the plot, the proposed setting consists of a series of blocks - acting as the spine's vertebrae - connected by a continuous path with great exterior views.
Acknowledging the tradition of the pilotis typical in the modernist plans for Brasília, the building mass is suspended off the ground, freeing up the green space below, although here there is a plot twist: The traditional endless flat and not very user friendly pilotis is shaped as a playscape with undulating topography, becoming a public park that also allows for physical and visual connection with the adjacent public squares located at both ends of the plot.
The project was featured on Archdaily, Concurso de Projetos, and Codhab web pages.