Ourense. Inauguration of the Valenzá Health Centre
Integrating into the environment, creating spaces for social harmony
The small parish of Valenzá (6,400 inhabitants) belonging to the municipality of Barbadás, near Orense, already has Health Centre. In March, 2017, a space of about 2,000 m2 was inaugurated to provide healthcare to all the parish inhabitants, and so that they will no longer have to travel to other parishes or to the city for primary care.
The programme is divided into four great areas of care plus the areas destined for the management and maintenance of the centre. The centre has 5 general medicine surgeries, 5 infirmaries, 1 matron’s room, 1 health education room, 1 dentist + hygienist surgery, 1 sampling room, 1 procedures room, 1 multipurpose room, 1 women’s room, 1 emergency room, 2 paediatrics surgeries, 2 paediatric infirmary rooms, a staff room, a board room and a library.
Designed by IDOM, the health centre integrates perfectly into the environment with a staggered arrangement of volumes and uses at different levels, organized around an upper courtyard. This arrangement also resolves the issue of the correct level of sunlight and ventilation in the areas around the centre, creating a wide range of public, semi-public and private spaces appropriate for the uses of the building. Special attention has been given to the roof, treating it as the fifth façade. The centre has, therefore, created public spaces around it, such as landscaped squares with trees and playgrounds.
