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.
 Conceptual building section |  The proposal responds to the elongated shape of the plot, acting as a connector between existing public spaces at its both ends. |  The proposed layout: A series of blocks connected by a continuous path with great exterior views |
|---|---|---|
 Overall view from exterior: The building floats over the plot, which becomes a pubic park |  The first floor plan inserted into the urban fabric |  The building mass is suspended off the ground, freeing up the green space below. |
 The ground floor becomes a public park connected to adjacent public squares at both ends of the plot |  The building mass captures the modernist pilotis, typical in Brasilia, but transforms it into a playscape |  First floor plan: Spaces work as the vertebrae of a spinal cord, with provisions for further expansion (at right end of plan) |
 Building sections |  Section detail |  Reception area |
 Exterior view at pilotis and interior view from connecting walkways |  A typical medical office |  A typical dental office |
 3d printed structural model of a typical building block |  Competition board # 1 |  Competition board # 2 |
 Competition board # 3 |  Competition board # 4 |