Celebrating difference

Historically, asylums were based in unrecognizable buildings, hidden from society, but no longer thanks to an architecture competition held by the Neuropsychiatric Centre Our Lady of Carmen, in Zaragoza, Spain.

The competition, which called on architects to expand the Young Disabled Modules and Workshop Pavilions at the centre saw winner José Javier Gallardo Ortega create a red zinc building which celebrates the work that is done inside the building for the disabled. He says that the colour choice makes the building visible, robs it of its prejudice and makes the “whole scene nobler”.

The tooth shaped roof, with variable slopes was created to reflect the patients’ mental activity in relation to the types of rooms they occupy. The resting and sleeping areas have a slope of 60% while the activity areas have a peak of 240%, thus creating a visual story of the what’s going on inside.

The new extension has 10 single bedrooms, eight double rooms with toilets, two living rooms, a dining room, a reception room, two offices, laundry and control rooms and a storage room. Not only an architectural masterpiece, the new building has also separated the youth with behavioral problems from the geriatrics, who were previously sharing a space.

Using one concept, one colour and one material José Javier Gallardo Ortega and his team have truly reached their goal of celebrating those who society once shunned.

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