The specificity of the site itself and the historical reference to the old hospital and its significance for the wider area determined the design of the new hospital facility in the context of those values. Without pretensions to dominate the surroundings, the new building strives to fit into it in terms of nurturing and preserving the found cultural and material assets and supporting the existing continuity of the space.
The simplicity of the former hospital has been retained in the newly designed building through a regular and reduced form. Elements that are repeated in a fixed and logical rhythm have the task of conveying to the surroundings the calm and clarity that define this space. Double-height arches at equal intervals recall the former central part of the old building, which was also arched, now accessible again and much more open to patients and visitors. It is these arches that encompass the two heights of the building, and in this way the external articulation of the form simulates the former number of floors. The height division of the building fits into the rules of the Golden Ratio, further contributing to the newly built building respecting the measure and thus maintaining the existing continuity in space. The idea is not to take away the old facility from the patients, but precisely to preserve the sense of its presence in this, newer time, through a modern way of reshaping it.
In the south-eastern part of the building, an external covered space was formed and its function is multi-purpose – staying in an open protected area while waiting for an examination, relieving the crowd in the building, staying outdoors even on rainy days, refreshing patients at the outdoor fountains and generally a more pleasant and healthy environment that patients and employees can access.
The facade of the new hospital building and its materialization would be an indispensable part of the overall context. For many years, the memory of the former hospital building has left stone as a material that people are used to and recognize as their own. Thus, the new building was conceived as a solid structure that respects the continuity that has been built for a long time and is characteristic of this area. The new large arches covering the ground floor and first floor would be in local stone, which would be reminiscent of the former and the one that can still be seen in the immediate surroundings. A new, additional floor was also envisioned in stone, but in this case flat, smooth domestic stone that would simulate modern development and improvement. The stone materialization, in a completely reduced form, would spill over the gable roof, thus introducing a necessary dose of modernity into the entire building through new ways of using familiar materials.