This small outpatient clinic is located in the town of Ravelo, a small community in a rural environment that occupies an outstanding hillside position, on the island of Tenerife. The project can be considered a response to the surrounding landscape on various scales, ranging from the scenic scale to the scale of the patient. Furthermore, the clinic also fulfills a social function, as it can be seen as a meeting point for the neighbourhood and is used for various community services.
Its main entrance has been adapted to the steep slope of the street and virtually extends the public space right into the building, which in turn projects it back out through the large panoramic window adjoining the waiting room. In this way, the building, in its function as a public space, is designed as a sort of diaphragm, which draws the public in and offers a natural transition from the street to an expanded perception of the surrounding landscape.
The building has been designed on two levels, both with street-level pedestrian access; this allows for a subtle differentiation in public access to the respective areas, each with its own functions and opening hours. The main floor is occupied by the medical surgeries, while the lower floor houses a small emergency service and multipurpose spaces for community activities.
On the upper level, the medical surgeries are south-facing. The design of their facade generates an intermediate space between the interior windows and exterior folding shutters which regulates the entry of sunlight, offering optimal lighting conditions for the workspaces; natural light is filtered and reflected on coloured surfaces, so as to create a comfortable, warm atmosphere.
The building is characterised by a dialogue between the external, concrete frame, open along the north-south axis, which constitutes an easily recognised, abstract landmark and lends the building its urban presence, and the continuous internal wooden skin which transforms the framed empty space into a series of rooms.
To the north, the concrete frame embraces the distant countryside, incorporating it into the everyday life of the clinic through the panoramic window, converting the waiting area into a room with panoramic views, a therapeutic space, directly connected with the landscape.
