Competition proposal - Center for palliative care Cibulka
The tower with its symbolic onion-shaped roof serves as a landmark within the complex and simultaneously marks the main entrance. Our design emphasizes this key orientation point and entrance. Extending from the entrance gate is the main axis that crosses the entire site.
The fundamental spatial experience of the estate is organized around the courtyard. Historically, the estate had a clearly defined, enclosed form, but the southern side is currently disrupted by barn buildings, which conflict with the original compositional logic of the courtyard. We therefore remove the modern barn extensions and replace them with a longitudinal wing, restoring the compositional logic and recreating the courtyard. This is not a replication of the historical structures — the original wing was too small to accommodate the functions of a modern healthcare facility.
We reflect the original generative principle without creating a replica. The new wing houses the inpatient units, which cannot fit into the old buildings, along with the most important operational functions directly linked to them. This approach reduces pressure on the historic buildings, which do not need to be significantly altered.
The final new construction is the “greenhouse” building, which is set into the retaining wall facing the eastern garden.
In our design, we strive to make the stay for clients as memorable and enjoyable as possible. We consider both child patients and their parents as clients. The experience within the facility should be one that everyone enjoys, remembers fondly, and looks forward to returning to. For parents, this primarily means having space to rest and recharge. Their time on the site should be as pleasant and restorative as a visit to a spa.
Caring for children with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses, which prematurely end their lives, is an extremely complex and sensitive matter. It involves not only the care of the children themselves but also support for their immediate families — parents, siblings, grandparents, and other close relatives or friends. Available reports and professional articles summarize the basic needs of these children, their families, and their caregivers.
While these sources help to understand the process of providing palliative care, they do not go into the practical details related to the design of a specific palliative facility. We felt it was important to understand the care and atmosphere surrounding it, taking into account the needs, preferences, and most importantly, the experiences of families and caregivers.
Within a short timeframe, we conducted several semi-structured interviews with parents of children with various rare illnesses that ultimately led to the child’s passing, as well as with providers of palliative support services. In the following paragraphs, we summarize the key findings from this research, which informed and inspired our design of the palliative care center.
For families whose child is born with, or later develops, a life-threatening illness, life is turned upside down. One parent typically provides nearly full-time care for the child, leaving little time for siblings, strain on the parental relationship, and severely limited or nonexistent leisure activities. Stress, exhaustion, chronic sleep deprivation, and fear of the future are daily realities for these families. Respite care is therefore an extremely valuable service.
A stay at such a center should feel like a spa experience for the family: a chance to step away from daily caregiving, relax, not worry about cooking, enjoy a massage or exercise, clear their minds, meditate, walk in nature, spend more time with siblings and the partner, while still remaining close to the ill child. These activities are essential for families to regain the strength needed for the physically and, above all, emotionally demanding care that lies ahead.
Vcítit se do návštěvníků - Centrum jako "LÁZNĚ" paliativního centra, výsledky provedeného uživatelského průzkumu
Team: ORA + momentura + Rehwaldt Landscape Architects
Authors: Ing. arch. Jan Hora, Ing. arch. Jan Veisser, Ing. arch. Michal Rouha, Dipl.-Ing. Till Rehwaldt, Ing. Radka Matouskova, Ing. arch. Maros Drobnak, Ing. arch. Klara Mackova, Ing.arch. Marie Delongova, Ing.arch. Hana Svehlova, Ing. Eliska Olsanska, Ing. Eliska Cerna, Ing. Hata Enochova
User research: PDEng. Dominika Potuzakova
Location: CZ, Prague, Cibulka