New hospital by Mario Cucinella opens up to the landscape and the city

In Italy, the significance of architecture as a factor for the psychophysical well-being of humans, especially in places dedicated to healing, seems to have been brought back to the forefront by the competition for the New Cremona Hospital, won by Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA).

Cucinella has interpreted the hospital typology by integrating it with the city, particularly opening it up to the sociocultural context. The healthcare center will not only host diagnosis and treatment services but also spaces for social interaction and recreation, embodying a holistic conception of well-being and health that does not sharply separate the healthy from the sick.

The typical radial structure of Cremona, along with the composition of the river terraces, including embankments and suspended walks in the landscape, is revisited and adapted into a resilient composition designed to meet economic and environmental needs. The project area, situated between urban expansion and the Po and Morbasco Park, serves as a new gateway between the city and the natural landscape. The New Hospital follows a semicircular layout, ensuring permeability between these two elements.

A green roof emerging from the park creates covered spaces that blend with the surrounding landscape and offer areas to live and inhabit. Moreover, the childcare functions and educational areas within the complex will be enriched with a library and temporary residences for patients and their families, aiming to promote new relationships with the local community.