Clínica Physia | Esther Vicario Azcona

Two distinct types of patients attend a clinic specialising in the pelvic floor.

On the one hand, healthy patients who wish to improve their overall health and do exercises to strengthen their pelvic floor. On the other, patients who have health problems. From the outset, the idea was for there to be no interference between these two activities, i.e., the people who come to the clinic to do exercises in its multipurpose rooms and the people who come for medical appointments.

To achieve this, the floor plan layout was arranged around a central core that divides the programme in two, with the appointment rooms and the multipurpose rooms being distributed on both sides of the core. This central wooden cube placed between warm white spaces works as a pivot between the two activities while also organising and connecting them.

Meanwhile, a centre specialised in women's health needed to have a comforting scale. Aspects such as the materials, lighting and colours used were meticulously studied to provide the centre with a feeling of calm. With the use of wood in the central core, as well as on the floors, a natural and welcoming architecture was guaranteed. All the furniture, doors, skirting boards, walls and ceilings were executed in RAL 9010, a warm white.

The clinic has two long north and south façades that were harnessed to allow natural light and ventilation in. The decision was taken to maximise this natural light by arranging the appointment rooms and the multipurpose rooms along these façades and locating the service spaces in the central area of the premises, i.e., the core.

A lattice of vertical steel posts lacquered in white was used as an element of

transition between outdoors and indoors and between the different areas making up the reception and the waiting rooms. These lattices visually separate the waiting rooms and the

reception, and were used on the façade to protect the windows and open up the centre.

Ceilings with a height of 3.6 metres give the clinic a pleasant feeling of space.

In terms of energy use, the clinic wanted to aim towards almost zero consumption through the use of continuous insulation in walls, ceilings and floors; windows with triple glazing; ventilation with heat recovery; and underfloor heating and cooling with an aerothermal system. As a result, the clinic can be heated and cooled with minimal energy consumption.

In conclusion, this project pays special attention to the order, distribution and operation of the clinic without neglecting the human part of it, always guaranteeing that employees and patients alike can enjoy a welcoming, attractive, healthy, and functional space.