New Hospital Institut Universitari Dexeus

The new University Institute Dexeus is located in the old psychiatric hospital grounds; in an area of Barcelona called Les Corts. The grounds are surrounded by streets at various levels of elevation, with a difference of one floor, which enables free access to the building from two different levels. An external roofed area is set as a big covered square between the new building and the restored psychiatric hospital. It links both buildings and serves as the actual public hall of the complex, also as a meeting point and direct access to various service areas of the hospital with no need to use the main hall of the centre. Being open to the city, the complex maintains its public nature. It also shows openness to the changing of internal routes and uses of spaces, all of them open to the superb centenarian garden within the site.

Both buildings are connected by a basement underneath the atrium, which meets the logistic and technical needs of the hospital. This level also leads to the various service areas located on the upper levels of both buildings. With regard to the hospital wards, the diversification of the layout of the corridors is outstanding. A strategic clearance of some parts ensures the access to natural light and enlargements of the linearity of the rooms’ fronts, where the waiting rooms are located.