New Cremona Hospital, Cremona

The greenery develops as a large area of naturalness and urban biodiversity, divided into three fundamental zones:

Climatic forest: a natural system embracing the architecture, characterised by organic paths linking a sequence of therapeutic activities for residents and hospital users, alternating with pockets of animal and plant biodiversity (butterfly/bird garden and biodiversity garden).

Vital ring: a path characterised by spaces for recreational and sports activities aimed at social interaction. A ring in constant dialogue with the public architectural elements and the hospital complex.

Rural ring: a large natural meadow system characterised by a central pool of water as the focal point of the entire park. A malleable place for events and activities in connection with the public architectural systems.

The relationship with the outdoor space promotes contact with nature. It improves the physical and mental state of patients (e.g. psychophysical therapy in the therapeutic forest), visitors, family members and the medical and healthcare staff themselves. Therapeutic gardens are based on the rediscovery and stimulation of the senses (touch, sight, smell and hearing) in the relationship with nature. The layout of the rooms themselves is designed to stimulate visual connections with the Health Park and green terraces to reduce anxiety and stress, thus decreasing the time spent in the hospital.

All this comes with a low environmental impact: the design fosters a fast construction site that avoids all-concrete solutions allows for a decrease in the use of water resources (thanks to the on-site reuse of water through a Sustainable Drainage Systems), less waste to be disposed of and less transport, providing for future disassembly and reuse of components. The green areas require reduced maintenance: the planned green roofs increase the thermal inertia of the structure and limit the building’s air conditioning costs. Integrating Nature-Based Solutions into the built environment allows for creating and sustainable management of green and blue infrastructure to promote biodiversity within the site. To mitigate the effects of climate change, the intervention will be able to reduce the average perceived temperature in outdoor spaces by approximately 4°C (climate data based on a projection to 2050 – Universal Thermal Climate Index – UTCI method).