#archizinc

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Prize-winners in the 8th edition of the ARCHIZINC TROPHY by VMZINC

The winner of the 2nd Special mention in the Public buildings Category: : Medisch Spectrum Twente Hospital in Oldenzaal (Netherlands) by Harry ABELS, Marta LACHOWSKA, Rick BRUGGINK, Michelle BOOLTINK, Marc WOOLS, Jan VELDSCHOLTE, Stefan BONNES (IAA Architecten)

SURGICAL BLOCK

Hospital developments are constantly growing and evolving. The most recent extension of the Oldenzaal hospital reunites disparate elements to create a functional whole.

The Medisch Spectrum Twente in Oldenzaal perfectly sums up the logic underlying the design of medical healthcare buildings. Founded in 1895 by the Franciscan Sisters, the establishment moved into a building of Neo-Gothic inspiration, where it has remained to this day. This building was regularly extended (in 1930, 1959, 1979 and 1992). What was originally an isolated construction became the main body of the building, the central element of a collage mixing several periods of the history of architecture, from Neo-Historicism to the functional Modernism of the 1960s. A decrease in the number of inpatients changed the purpose of the establishment, which became specialised in outpatient medicine, focusing on short stays or treatment requiring no hospital stays at all.

The IAA architecture firm led this significant project, restructuring an occupied site, inaugurated in 2017 This new configuration required the destruction of the inpatient wing, which was no longer in use. The historic buildings were restored and all the exterior areas were redesigned. The car park was placed further away from the building, nearer the street. The most significant part of the architects' work was the building clad in PIGMENTO® Brown, erected on part of the former inpatient wing. Its height is in line with that of the existing buildings. The construction of this block made it possible to completely reorganise the hospital's reception area and circulation structures, by giving it a new, clearly identifiable entrance, which opens onto a spacious atrium that becomes the main square of the establishment.

The atrium gets its views and natural light through long horizontal windows, the lines of which are blurred by long vertical zinc profiles. From the outside, the extension looks almost opaque. Intermingling with the veranda, the brickwork and the modernist openings, this facade system creates an elegant concentrate of all the establishment's architectural styles, and prepares it for its new departure.

Jury's assessment: The extension asserts a specific contemporary identity yet blends harmoniously with the varying architectural styles of the existing hospital.

PHOTOS CRÉDIT: VMZINC® - HENNIE RAAYMAKERS

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Prize-winners in the 8th edition of the ARCHIZINC TROPHY by VMZINC

Jury Special Award : Tua Valley Interpretive Centre (Portugal) by Mrs SUSANA ROSMANINHO and Mr PEDRO AZEVEDO (ROSMANINHO+ AZEVEDO ARCHITECTS)

INDUSTRIAL LANGUAGE Following an apparently lightweight renovation, a railway warehouse is equipped with a new envelope in keeping with its new purpose.

In 1880, the opening of the Douro railway line provided a solid alternative to waterway transport on an unpredictable, twisting river. One hundred years later, several sections of this railway, considered insufficiently lucrative, were closed. In 2008, operation of the line ceased entirely. The construction of a dam on the Tua River, approved the following year and requiring 16 kilometres of railway tracks to be flooded, made any re-use of the service definitively impossible. The creation of the Tua Valley Interpretive Centre (TVIC) was part of the compensation programme associated with the construction of the dam. Its purpose is to allow visitors to get to know the history of the valley, its main places of interest and less known natural resources, with a view to facilitating informed tourism conducive to responsible development.

The TVIC is housed in two disused hangars of the Tua train station. The Rosmaninho-Azevedo architecture firm wanted to give each hangar a singular identity. The parts dedicated to photography exhibitions took up residence in one hangar, which retained its timber envelope. Separated by train tracks, the second part of the TVIC was more comprehensively renovated, in keeping with an ambitious programme. The zinc cladding of the pavilion reconciles two almost antagonistic choices by the architects: sourcing of a material to blend with the industrial character of this venue, while at the same time expressing a noble dimension in line with the Douro's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. QUARTZ-ZINC® corrugated panels were installed on the roof and facade, reinterpreting the timber hangars.

The building's floor area was extended in keeping with the limits dictated by the circulation of trains, in order to house the entire programme. Elimination of the side platforms enabled the construction of a thick wall integrating an air gap. Positioned behind the zinc cladding, it produces natural ventilation, minimizing the use of air conditioning equipment. Although this transversal extension may seem insignificant, it in fact created more space for the permanent exhibition areas housed in the second hangar. With a substantial economy of means, the zinc skin demonstrates that it is possible to change a building completely without disrupting it, to alter use without betraying the identity of a place.

Jury's assessment: Expert work, creating discrepancy yet recalling an original model.

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This year the theme of our Campus Archizinc contest is “Building around: densifying and requalifying an existing building” 

Here is a successful example of a roof extension in Portugal.

Please click here to learn more about our contest organized for European students enrolled in architecture schools. 

Private housing in Lisbon (Portugal) by  Humberto Conde, Copyright: Joao Morgado - Architecture Photography