Project: Spedali Civili di Brescia
Architecture: Carlo Ratti Associati + Park Associati
Geo: Brescia, Italy
The runner‑up in the seventh poll project_of_the_week is the reconstruction of Spedali Civili di Brescia. While in Dar al Funoon architecture brings the backstage onto the street, here it unfolds an urban environment around the hospital. The project is currently at the rendering stage; construction of the first phase is scheduled for 2028.
In Italian, Spedali Civili means "city hospitals." The project’s history dates back to 1427, when Brescia merged its city lazzarettos into a single institution. The modern complex on the city’s outskirts was designed by engineer Angelo Bordoni in the early 20th century: a hexagonal masterplan and a radial layout with pavilion "rays" extending from the center. The hospital opened in 1950 and was later expanded. Today it is one of Lombardy’s main hospitals, with roughly 1,300 beds.
An international design competition was won by a team of seven firms: Park Associati, Carlo Ratti Associati and Politecnica Building for Humans together with Openfabric, Dotdotdot, Eckersley O’Callaghan and Studio Mattioli. The winner was announced on July 2 at the Grande di Brescia theatre — the main brief was to preserve and develop Bordoni’s radial logic.
The proposal, called CareRing, places a new main building and a children’s hospital to form a "ring of care" around the existing campus. Logistics and service flows converge underground; at surface level new plazas, therapeutic gardens and green corridors will link the hospital to Brescia. The concept is grounded in the WHO One Health approach: human health, the state of nature and social well‑being are treated as a single system.
New buildings totalling 60,500 m² will relieve the historic pavilions, which will be gradually reoriented toward science, research and education — the hospital works closely with the University of Brescia’s medical faculty.
The main building consists of three interconnected wings that reinterpret the radial scheme. At ground level a glazed lobby opens onto a new urban square; winter gardens at the wings' ends reduce the sense of enclosure. The structure will use timber and steel, and a modular grid will allow reconfiguration without complete demolition.
The children’s hospital is a separate world within CareRing. Instead of radial wings it proposes three cylinders of different heights, with fewer corners and more air and daylight. Terraces and internal courtyards between them allow patients to go outside without leaving inpatient care. Entry is through a full‑height atrium: play areas and family spaces below, wards above with views to the courtyard, garden or the Brescia Prealps.
Phase one will affect the hospital’s northern area: the outpatient clinic and infectious diseases pavilion will be replaced by the main building and pediatric wards. Phase two covers the central and southern sectors, where day care and ambulatory facilities will be paired with longer‑stay wards. The total project budget is estimated around € 500 million; € 274 million is allocated for the start.
In 2027 Spedali Civili will mark 600 years since the foundation of the city hospital — the reconstruction is timed for this anniversary. In the 20th century the hospital was moved to the outskirts; now it is being brought back into the city as a public realm — a ring of gardens, squares and routes for both patients and residents to use.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render ·
Architecture: Carlo Ratti Associati + Park Associati
Geo: Brescia, Italy
The runner‑up in the seventh poll project_of_the_week is the reconstruction of Spedali Civili di Brescia. While in Dar al Funoon architecture brings the backstage onto the street, here it unfolds an urban environment around the hospital. The project is currently at the rendering stage; construction of the first phase is scheduled for 2028.
In Italian, Spedali Civili means "city hospitals." The project’s history dates back to 1427, when Brescia merged its city lazzarettos into a single institution. The modern complex on the city’s outskirts was designed by engineer Angelo Bordoni in the early 20th century: a hexagonal masterplan and a radial layout with pavilion "rays" extending from the center. The hospital opened in 1950 and was later expanded. Today it is one of Lombardy’s main hospitals, with roughly 1,300 beds.
An international design competition was won by a team of seven firms: Park Associati, Carlo Ratti Associati and Politecnica Building for Humans together with Openfabric, Dotdotdot, Eckersley O’Callaghan and Studio Mattioli. The winner was announced on July 2 at the Grande di Brescia theatre — the main brief was to preserve and develop Bordoni’s radial logic.
The proposal, called CareRing, places a new main building and a children’s hospital to form a "ring of care" around the existing campus. Logistics and service flows converge underground; at surface level new plazas, therapeutic gardens and green corridors will link the hospital to Brescia. The concept is grounded in the WHO One Health approach: human health, the state of nature and social well‑being are treated as a single system.
New buildings totalling 60,500 m² will relieve the historic pavilions, which will be gradually reoriented toward science, research and education — the hospital works closely with the University of Brescia’s medical faculty.
The main building consists of three interconnected wings that reinterpret the radial scheme. At ground level a glazed lobby opens onto a new urban square; winter gardens at the wings' ends reduce the sense of enclosure. The structure will use timber and steel, and a modular grid will allow reconfiguration without complete demolition.
The children’s hospital is a separate world within CareRing. Instead of radial wings it proposes three cylinders of different heights, with fewer corners and more air and daylight. Terraces and internal courtyards between them allow patients to go outside without leaving inpatient care. Entry is through a full‑height atrium: play areas and family spaces below, wards above with views to the courtyard, garden or the Brescia Prealps.
Phase one will affect the hospital’s northern area: the outpatient clinic and infectious diseases pavilion will be replaced by the main building and pediatric wards. Phase two covers the central and southern sectors, where day care and ambulatory facilities will be paired with longer‑stay wards. The total project budget is estimated around € 500 million; € 274 million is allocated for the start.
In 2027 Spedali Civili will mark 600 years since the foundation of the city hospital — the reconstruction is timed for this anniversary. In the 20th century the hospital was moved to the outskirts; now it is being brought back into the city as a public realm — a ring of gardens, squares and routes for both patients and residents to use.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render ·