Foreword
Competition organisers
The Hospice: Home for the Terminally Ill Competition sought conceptual ideas that explore health design innovation. It offered a chance for participants to experiment with architecture as a tool for helping people suffering from diseases and to demonstrate how architecture can offer psychological relief. It is the first in a series of health-related design events, which will be accompanied by other competitions including the Home for the Blind Competition and the Accessible Architecture Essay Competition
The brief requested a space where those facing terminal illnesses can go for respite, recuperation, and receive support in whatever form they may need: a center where patients can visit daily to receive advice, guidance, and companionship while undergoing treatment. The program was to include: a ‘common zone’ with a small library, gathering room, chapel, kitchen, and dining rooms; and a ‘private zone’ containing a nurse’s room and therapy room for psychological support. The intended capacity was for 15 visitors and 5 staff members for daytime care only. There was no defined location, and participants were asked to select a theoretical site from their home country.
Bee Breeders worked with an international jury of innovative architects with experience designing for the program type at hand: Rubén García Rubio and Sonsoles Vela Navarro, architects and co-founders of studioVRA based in Zaragoza, Spain; Arturo Mc Clean, communications manager and architect at Barcelona-based Miralles Tagliabue EMBT which has completed such projects as Kálida Sant Pau Centre in Barcelona – a space of emotional, social, and practical support for cancer patients, part of the Maggie’s Centre Network; Paul Monaghan, director at AHMM in London, which has completed projects including the North London Hospice and Kentish Town Health Centre; Françoise N’Thépé of Paris-based practice FRANÇOISE N’THÉPÉ ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN; Andrew Thurman, who leads the Interior Design program at York St. John University; and Dr Johan van der Zwart, a researcher with a focus on the interaction between technology, people, process, and place.
Bee Breeders received a wide range of submissions from around the world. Those selected by the jury were chosen for their intelligent site locations, focus on human scale, placemaking, and concepts respectful of the delicate moral nature of the program.
Bee Breeders and its jury panel would like to thank all the designers that participated in this competition.
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Jury feedback summary
‘Into the Garden’ offers a natural sanctuary designed to feel like a magical green space under a floating roof. Timber construction wrapped in a translucent membrane, the building glows with the light of the exterior while offering a therapeutic ambiance free from exterior urban audio and visual noises. The jury summarized it as ‘‘a giant conservatory with a beautiful garden below, with rooms surrounding this garden that give a sense of both indoor and outdoor space.” The jury also commented, “The proposal presents a fresh idea about the integration of daytime care within an urban context through vegetation and a protective roof. The proposal offers a strong conceptual idea integrated into an urban context that emphasizes the use of nature as a healing instrument for humans and cities. It feels like a fantastic space to inhabit all year round.”