Double Mirage
Medical Campus Expansion
Segovia, Spain
2024

Seeing without being seen. A double mirage. Integrating 17,000 m² of architecture into a protected landscape demands restraint—a silent dialogue with the surroundings. The building sits high above historic Segovia, observing without imposing, attuned to the austere relief of the Campos de Castilla. It merges with the territory, respecting its scale, geology, and memory—an architecture that inscribes itself in the landscape without breaking its continuity.

(Fig. 1) Project’s location in relation to Segovia’s urban structure and landmarks
(Fig. 2) Parti diagram

At its core, systematization guides the design. Drawing from the principles of mat building, the project introduces a modular structure through a cartesian grid that is both scalable and replicable. The hospital’s program necessitates clear, direct, and efficient circulation pathways. The consultation room serves as the fundamental module, shaping the layout of the complex through a logic grounded in the essential.

(Fig. 3) Outlook from the project site
Double Mirage "We are victims —I thought— of a double mirage. If we look outward and try to penetrate things, our external world loses solidity, and ends up dissipating when we come to believe it exists not in itself, but only through us. Yet, if convinced of inner reality, we turn inward, then everything seems to come from outside, and it is our inner world—ourselves—that vanishes. What, then, is to be done?" Antonio Machado (1917)
(Fig. 4) Prologue to Campos de Castilla (1917) Antonio Machado

Due to its exposure, the building is envisioned as a presence nestled within the landscape, positioned upon the Segovia slabs, camouflaged to remain unseen, yet claiming the best views of the city.

(Fig. 5) Terracing and landscape integration

This approach led us to embed the project within the site, shifting focus from the façade to a roof that adapts to the topography, addressing both technical and programmatic needs. The result is a building that offers the city a new perspective—a synthesis of landscape and Segovia, a primal architectural solution that embraces the contemporary.

The expansion of the hospital campus introduces a new order that overlaps with the pre-existing structure. From the city, it appears as a conceptual basement, facilitating a seamless transition into the landscape.

(Fig. 6) 3D site model showing project integration

The proposed organizational module enables a sequence of interior courtyards to unfold across the roof, their landscaped design echoing the exterior. In this way, a fragment of the landscape is seamlessly brought into the building’s interior.

(Fig. 7) Topographic Integration Studies

The building, conceived as a buried structure, is characterized by its high thermal inertia, which allows for natural regulation of the interior temperature. Sustainable water management is a priority, with a roof-mounted water collection system that optimizes the resource.

(Fig. 8) Topographic Integration Studies

The green roofs not only contribute to the aesthetics but also mitigate the heat island effect, creating a cooler microclimate. Natural light, the arrangement of communal spaces and the thoughtful subdivision of the program into distinct, recognizable modules together create a sense of scale and identity.

The building connects the two most distant levels of the site through roofs that shift and adapt to the terrain through an interior lobby-street with a distinct public character.

(Fig. 9) Project's potential for scalability
(Fig. 10) The dynamics of lobby-street interrelations.

The selection of plant species is based on low water demand criteria, ensuring an environmentally friendly design. Furthermore, interspecies coexistence is encouraged by improving biodiversity and ensuring harmonious integration with the surrounding landscape.

The new intervention on the site focuses on creating healing environments that feel familiar and domestic, fostering the patient’s recovery. By blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, the design transforms the intervention into an interconected therapeutic garden.

(Fig. 11, 12) Floor plans

Client
Consejería de Sanidad de la Junta de Castilla y León

Status
Competition

Design dates
2024: Concept Design

Program
Healthcare - Segovia Hospital Medical Campus Expansion

Team
Juanjo Arévalo
Pereira-Royo
equipo.exe

Collaborators
Ana Arévalo

Photography / Images
All images by Juanjo Arévalo, Pereira-Royo & equipo.exe

Budget
15 M €

Gross area
17.000 m2