This new Breast Cancer Diagnostic Center in Kuwait is posed as a programme in-between private and public, between open and intimate, having to address both dimensions simultaneously.
The design is articulated on two axis that address the different programmes:
– A horizontal organization, low and perforated by various courtyards, that holds the hospital programme.
– A vertical typology in the form of a tower where the academic training spaces are located.
The horizontal element is set in a volume slightly sunken into the ground. A perforated aluminum perimeter envelope surrounds the whole building, behind which emerges a garden on a lower level. The access is a platform overhanging the garden like a bridge. The presence of vegetation is key in the proposal, and the access and waiting spaces have different garden spaces in the building as their backdrop. The waiting spaces are designed as pleasant and relaxing spaces where one can glimpse the surrounding treetops.
The vertical organization is distributed on different levels and with different kinds of spaces. There are formal spaces such as the conference room, and more informal ones like gardens and terraces that can become spaces for events and exhibitions.
Transparencies, veils and lightness are the ideas around which the external look of the building revolves. The perforated metal skin serves as a transition from the exterior, protecting it from views and offering privacy and protection. The aim is to establish many visual and spatial connections with the exterior, incorporating vegetation into the different areas of the building.
