Rambam Hospital, Haifa 1969

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The Rambam Government Hospital in Haifa for 500 beds is an expansion of an existing hospital built before World War II by Eric Mendelsohn for the Mandatory Government. The new building serves as a centre for the whole hospital complex which has over 1000 beds. The Mendelsohn building was designed as a five-storey hospital facing Haifa bay. The main orientation of this building was north-west, and in spite of the terraces, the patients' wards suffered from the fierce afternoon sun in the summer.

The main reason for the diagonal siting of the new hospital - as related to the existing one - was to provide north and south orientations for the patients' wards. By turning the axis of the new building 45* from the existing one, we were able to give it an expression of its own, without affecting the architecture of the Mendelsohn hospital.

The central seven-storey wards block rests on pillars, rising above the two low squares, on ground level. This overlapping layout leaves several patios and open spaces, which ensure thorough cross-ventilation and air suction. A further air stream flows diagonally through the building, as the upper floors have large open terraces to the east and west, where the emergency staircases are located, allowing direct air penetration into the inner courtyards. The plot was very limited in extent, and as a result, a very systematically elaborated modular scheme had to be carried out in length, depth and height, creating as many open spaces as possible throughout the building. The building is thus breathing diagonally and vertically throughout the interspersed patios and courtyards.

The central multi-storey block contains the main wards facing north and south, with laboratories and animal house on the top floor. The larger of the two squares, on ground level contains the medical facilities: reception, X-ray, operating theatre, central supply. The smaller square contains the administration and dining-rooms. All three squares, the multi-storey building - seven by seven modules - the medical building - eight by eight modules - and the administrative block - five by five modules - are sewn together by a central core - three by three modules - containing elevators and staircases.