Picture of health: new medical-facility design

Small-scale, local and sustainable might not be words that we immediately associate with healthcare and medical centres. But with climate breakdown on the horizon and the pandemic barely behind us, now is the time to reevaluate our current practices – both medical and architectural. Increasingly, designers aim to create a positive and accessible environment for patients and medical professionals alike.

Take Maggie's Leeds Centre, designed by Heatherwick Studio for cancer charity Maggie's. Designed as a place for contemplation, counselling and respite, this small medical centre consists of three overlapping, mushroom-like timber canopies that create a fluid, multi-level space between them. Tactile materials, such as lime plaster, timber and cork, are used on the inside, while the outside features a lush garden that even extends onto the staggered roof terraces, inviting patients to rest in a natural setting after their exhausting treatments.

In the Dutch city of Dordrecht, RoosRos Architecten has designed KV13, a multifunctional medical centre located in a former transformer building. Making the most of the existing industrial structure, the architects have decided to showcase its characteristic elements. Brick walls, tiles and concrete floors are left exposed, and a gantry crane has been left in one of the double-height spaces that now doubles as a room for physiotherapy. Ventilation ducts, pipes and data channels – necessary for any contemporary workspace – are also exposed, further enhancing the building's raw character.

In Taverny, a northwestern suburb of Paris, MAAJ Architectes have designed a new local clinic which consolidates previously spread out services into one building. The Taverny Medical Centre is a two-storey structure with a square plan and a distinctive roofline with a courtyard in the middle. The interior of the building is light, thanks to the verdant cruciform shaped courtyard, as well as the colour palette of white, grey and pale wood. The whole structure is built using engineered timber in order to minimise the building's carbon footprint, and the facade features large timber mullions, expressing its chief building material.

Belgian practice Delmulle Delmulle Architecten has designed a Puncture Medical Centre in the town of Ronse. This small clinic – which serves as a place where nurses collect blood samples from patients for tests – is located on an ordinary street near the town centre and looks like a contemporary townhouse. Balancing the need for privacy with a preference for a light and bright interior, the clinic features a fully glazed facade with a screen composed of slender timber slats.

© Architonic