New Hospital Complex, Ajaccio

Sited along the crest of a hill on the edge of the town, the new hospital looks out over the landscape and the bay of Ajaccio. It forms a new urban reference point, a decisive element within the development of the town.

Simple in form, its horizontal volume underlines the topography. The building makes its presence felt while also minimising its impact on the landscape. Lifted off the ground, the building floats above a pine forest. The double effect of horizontality and levitation are key to the successful integration of the hospital within the site.Its simple architecture, comfortable and reassuring, provides an exceptional environment for the hospital’s users. Its compact volume takes advantage of the differences in levels on the site to maintain a human scale. Despite comprising six stacked levels, the building appears to only have three, which sit above a stone plinth that is set into the terrain.

Terraced gardens around the hospital manage the transition from the surrounding natural landscape, while also making it possible to build the delivery and ambulance bays into the slope.