ENERO Arquitectura has built this pavilion using nine hexagonal plan industrialized pieces that, thanks to changes in the design of the roof of the modules that compose them, can be combined to create a space that is capable of growing in any direction. According to the position of the piece its vertical enclosure functions as an internal partition or as part of the exterior façade, the latter is constituted by a double skin that plays with color and texture to give a changing tonality to the volume of the building.
Description of the project by ENERO Arquitectura
ENERO’s modular nursery is part of the studio’s R+D line of work and was aimed at creating a child care center for hospital staff’s children at the Rey Juan Carlos Hospital in Móstoles (Madrid). It is a 300 square meter space made from modular parts adjacent to the hospital.
For its development, the studio choose an industrialized building process based on hexagonal units, with the intention of creating an organic structure easy to assembly and scale –two requirements specifically relevant for the client. Each hexagon is divided into two trapezoidal modules with gable roofs. The modules arrived to the site already completed and were assembled in pairs, to compose a complex geometry despite the simplicity of its core elements.
The façade plays with a double skin, with a first sheet of sandwich panel made of aluminum lacquered in color –providing the highest possible thermal insulation– and the second one of a stretched panel of lacquered aluminum. These two layers of different color and texture provide the set with a changing hue, depending on the view and the light falling on the building; the nursery is sometimes of an intense red color and other times tends towards an orange tone. Its interior follows that same commitment to warm colors and plays with oranges and yellows.
Being a building designed ultimately for children, ENERO approached the project from the unique point of view of these special users. That is why, alongside standard details such as anti-finger-trap doors and inaccessible handles and electric devices, the studio also implemented flexible, soft floors and tailor-made lighting and air conditioning fixtures, aimed at providing children with a comfortable environment which stimulates their creativity.
With this project, ENERO took a new approach while remaining faithful to its distinctive work ethos. For this occasion, the studio collaborated with Modulab, saving time and cost while producing the highest quality finishes. Working with light materials and off site also benefitted the environmental footprint of the project, achieving significant energy savings compared to a conventional building development.
In short, from the initial agreement on the concept with the property owner and in a little over six months between July 2014 and January 2015, design and construction works were completed. The nursery will have a capacity for 60 children between 0 and 3 years starting the next school year with a very low impact on the site.
CREDITS. DATA SHEET.-
Architects.- ENERO Arquitectura.
Constructor.- Prismas.
Consultant of industrialization.- Modulab.
Area.- 300 sqm.
Dates.- July 2014 to January 2015.
Location.- Hospital Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid.
