Hospital Naval is a building in the Caballito section of Buenos Aires designed by architect Clorindo Testa with Juan Hector Lacarra in 1977. Testa's design was a competition-winning entry.
The hospital was built to serve Argentine Navy personnel and faces Parque Centenario, the institution was established in 1947. The building is 30,000 m2 (320,000 ft2) and was inaugurated in 1981.
The building consists of an envelope volume which becomes the protagonist of the proposal, taking inspiration directly from a boat. This is achieved through various formal elements that allude to sailing, such as linear the slenderness of the building, the window treatment and coating used.
The building is formally characterized by the rhythm of the columns that are expressed on the outside. There is also a subtle interplay of spherical yellow umbrellas on the portholes and the volumetric concrete stairs.
Architecture
The building is divided into nine plants, which correspond to a linear layout.
The ground floor was used to solve the access: public, emergency, medical assistants, technicians and supply. In both sub-soils are general services, outpatient and radiotherapy rooms. The first floor is for laboratories and the second floor is operating rooms and intensive care.
The top four levels are used for admission and these rooms have round, porthole-like windows facing mostly to the park. The windows appear to pierce the great ship.
The hospital is built in concrete predominantly covered with light blue tiles, again calling forth the notion of the sea and naval institutions. The structure is made from a system of beams and reinforced concrete columns.