ARCHITECTURE


SANTIAGO VIALE LESCANO – PROFESSOR, UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CÓRDOBA; JUAN MANUEL JUAREZ – CHIEF OF PRACTICE EXERCISES OF CONSTRUCTIVE METHODS, UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA


Flexibility in healthcare architecture:ICUproject


Architects Santiago Viale Lescano and Juan Manuel Juarez explain the principles and functional considerations that guided the installation of new ICUs at the Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba in Argentina.


So as to understand or talk about flexibility, we would start by stating that a hospital institution is ultimately made up of a set of subsystems that act as independent entities, which means that they are functionally resolved within themselves, having their own standards, requirements, equipment, managers and staff, which are very different between areas. Just to mention some of them, we have: the imaging service where the entrances, the lead shields on its surrounds, and their weight are perhaps its most preponderant feature, then the surgical block, which is perhaps the most sensitive point of a health institution as it requires a large amount of medical supplies to arrive for its correct operation (such as special air conditioning systems, special electrical panels, medicinal gases, within others), hospitalisation, which is a mixture of ‘hotel’ and ‘health’ due to the requirements of the patients, ICUs (Intensive Care Units), neonatology, coronary unit, and many more services, all


IFHE DIGEST 2023


interconnected by the backbone of these institutions. To all these diverse services - which


complement each other and interact as parts of a system or organism that is constantly evolving due to new technologies, new pathologies, or even variations in the medical indicators or statistics of each place – we as architects must give an answer through architecture; that is, creating a shell that allows all of the


mentioned areas to develop successfully within it. All of the elements that compose the final building, especially the structure, must be carefully designed allowing these services to mutate within it with the least possible impact.


Flexibility is key Flexibility within healthcare architecture is perhaps the most important paradigm and also one of the most pursued goals in


Santiago Viale Lescano Santiago Viale Lescano graduated as an architect from the Universidad Nacional de


Córdoba in 1994. Specialising in healthcare architecture, he has been working in this area for over 25 years, completing many projects such as Hospital Municipal Príncipe de


Asturias, Centro de Rehabilitación de OSSACRA, terapia intensiva del Hospital Privado de Córdoba, and Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas de Córdoba y. He is a consultant for European and US companies that are developing projects and building Hospitals in


Córdoba at present, and a college professor, heading two departments in the Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Santiago has been published in many local and international specialised books, magazines, newspapers, and websites, and his work has been distinguished with several architecture prizes.


Juan Manuel Juarez Architect Juan Manuel Juarez graduated from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba


Argentina in 1994. He started his career as a collaborator at the GGMPU firm in Córdoba and he has been part of the Architecture Department of the Municipality of Córdoba since 1998, being the chief of public construction projects for three years and chief of the Public Construction Inspection Department for six years. Juan Manuel joined Architect Santiago Viale Lescano Firm in 2007, becoming a partner in this healthcare


architecture specialist. He has been chief of practice exercises of Constructive Methods I & II at the Universidad Católica de Córdoba since 2008.


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