Primary Care Health Center- Colegiales CABA -

Architectural Project - Catedra Taller Explora - UBA - 2022

Descriptive Report

The project consists of a Primary Care Health Center located in a residential area in the Colegiales neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its implementation will provide greater accessibility to healthcare not only for residents of the area but also for users from neighboring neighborhoods.

Analyzing the immediate surroundings of the assigned site, we can observe that various green areas, both public and private, are located in a specific sector, forming a green corridor along Concepción Arenal Street. This not only contributes to the green space but is also one of the streets with the highest traffic, similar to Av Dorrego.

Based on this analysis, a design strategy is proposed in which the building is consolidated along the Northwest and Southwest edges, namely Freire and Zapiola streets, stepping back from Concepción Arenal Street and Av Dorrego, creating recreation, gathering, and resting areas for residents, patients, and medical staff.

This arrangement allows for the creation of a passageway between Dorrego and Concepción Arenal, responding to pedestrian accessibility and the higher flow of people on these streets. This space includes a central pass-through courtyard, which not only provides ventilation and natural light to the building but also continues the logic of green space from Concepción Arenal and allows flexibility in its use if needed.

The building's system respects this passageway, creating two bars of medical equipment around the courtyard and a central bar with public programs and a hall. Both bars have a well-defined circulation system based on the type of users of the Center. On one hand, we have patient circulation around the perimeter from the central hall, and on the other, medical staff circulation located in the center of each bar, directly connected to complementary medical comfort programs.

Regarding the structural system adopted, a reinforced concrete structure with columns, beams, and slabs is proposed, based on a modular measure of 7 meters, allowing flexibility in terms of the program, sizing, and potential reorganization. A PVC ceiling is proposed, necessary for building systems and ventilation.

To achieve better thermal comfort and to avoid direct sunlight, a curtain wall system anchored directly to the slabs, with intercalated alucobond panels according to orientation, is adopted.

On the facades facing north, i.e., Concepción Arenal and Zapiola, the arrangement of alucobond panels follows a specific pattern that allows less solar light infiltration and greater continuity between panels. Meanwhile, on the southern faces like Dorrego and Freire, there is more spacing between the panels to create a brighter interior environment.