This project is an extension of the Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran Rehabilitation village which is a unique hospital serving patients with special needs. For everyone involved in this medical institution, nurses, doctors, patients and their families, the village is their second home in which there is a prevailing atmosphere of calm, serenity and intimacy.
The site for the new facility is located south of the existing village and will be linked to it via a service road that acts as a seam between the two. Whereas the buildings of the existing village are organized around a beautiful central garden with a meandering green topography in which one can wander and hear the sound of water, the new site calls for a linear order.
The elongated geometry of the addition allows for a tight and dynamic development with an introverted shaded garden that stretches through the entire site in which light, shade, green and water play a central role. The new masterplan is composed of three linear elements. The departments of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy face the northern side of the site. The Neurological/Orthopedic Rehabilitation wards face the southern side of the site and the elongated garden that stretches between them runs from east to west.
The three linear elements are intersected twice by walkways that connect the existing village to the new facilities. The skyline, the scale, the materiality of the addition follow the language of the existing structures. The vertical dimension of the extension takes advantage of the slope of the land to make room for parking and vehicular access.
The scheme’s curved geometry creates changing perspectival views that shift throughout the days and the seasons of the year. The linear architectural composition will be built in stages with the intent of providing public spaces at the edges. These spaces include an auditorium and educational center on the western side and a sloping green outdoor “amphitheater” on the eastern side.
The guiding philosophy of the addition to the Aleh Negev Nahalat Eran Rehabilitation village stems from a desire to create an oasis in the desert, a protected and optimistic enclave to fill the special needs of our patients and the surrounding communities.
