Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre – Angel Hospital)
Venice-Mestre, Italy
215,278 sf Earth-sheltered, Overstructure & Daylight Greenroofs & Terrace Gardens

Photo: Enrico Ganz

Greenroofs.com Featured Project September 10, 2018

After two and a half years of planning and design, we here at Greenroofs.com are delighted to release the first phase of our brand new website shortly.  In honor of the individual who made this happen financially, Emilio Ambasz, Hon FAIA, it’s our pleasure to showcase one of his many outstanding living architecture projects this week.

Greenroofs.com is the proud recipient of a grant from the renown green architect’s Legacy Emilio Ambasz Foundation, or LEAf.

Located in the Atrium Garden, the angel statue donated by architect Bruno Scarpa gives the Mestre-Venice Hospital its new name of Angel Hospital. Photo: Azienda Ulss 12.

Emilio Ambasz’s philosophy of “The Green Over the Gray,” or the landscape over the building, is evident in every piece of his iconic body of work with his firm, Emilio Ambasz & Associates.  The Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre or Angel Hospital) epitomizes this concept of covering the surface area of the built structure with more vegetation than its original footprint.

Photo: Emilio Ambasz & Associates.

Aerial: Google.

The Venice-Mestre Hospital is a fantastic example of considering every aspect of the site and then designing structures that not only blend seamlessly into their surroundings, but also create iconic structures while embracing living architecture.

Photo: Venezia Moderna.

Excerpt from Project Profile:

Considered the most technologically advanced health facility in Italy and at the forefront of healthcare in Europe, the campus of the Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre – Angel Hospital) includes the equally important and architecturally stunning Veneto Eye Bank Foundation, both designed by Emilio Ambasz and Alberto Altieri.

Covering a surface of 260,000 m2, the architects’ “Therapy Park” concept sees strategic design of the landscape as a green element that surrounds, incorporates and crosses the new hospital structure, so that it becomes an integral part of the interior spaces as well.  The Landscape Garden surrounds the hospital complex.  It contains woods, lakes, hills and an area called “the meadow,” a large roof garden linking the hospital block with the supplies department building.

The Venice-Mestre Hospital in the background of the Veneto Eye Bank Foundation; ©Enrico Cano, courtesy of Emilio Ambasz.

Aerial: Studio Altieri, via e-architect.

Completed at a cost of approximately 500 million euros, the Venice-Mestre Hospital is a general care hospital with 680 patient care beds with seven floors above ground level plus two underground floors.

Visitors arriving by car or train enter the hospital on the Central Garden, a gently sloping green ramp under which all cars are parked.  These below grade and daylight greenroof areas are organized into sedum and meadow lawns planted with bands of flowering shrubs and ground cover, linked by footpaths.

Graphic: Emilio Ambasz & Associates.

Photo: Benetazzo Spacioverde.

Photo: bluled via Mapio.

Its signature striking glass-faced pyramid atrium, stretching along the 180-meter length of the building, contains the in-patient block that emerges from a much more extensive services and outpatient block, which is covered with greenery.

Visitors enter directly into the Grand Lobby, the overstructure atrium courtyard, which is created by the overhangs of floors.  Above, patient rooms face onto the atrium filled with light and lush tropical plants – like in a huge greenhouse.

Newly planted in 2009, photo ©Enrico Cano, courtesy of Emilio Ambasz.

After one year. Photo: Gente Veneta.

After 10 years you can see how under the intense light of the window the vegetation offers a shaded, more relaxing path. Photo: TechnoMedicina.

More

As the six building floors shift to one side as it rises, private garden terraces are created.  Every patient has direct views to plants and trees in front of their windows as well as long perspectives onto the surrounding fields.

The exquisitely designed Venice-Mestre Hospital and Veneto Eye Bank Foundation together create living architecture as ecosystem service providers, blending biophilia seamlessly with the user experience.

Photo: Geoplast.

Beautifully planted terraces create a cascading effect; photo courtesy of Massimo Benetazzo.

Year: 2008
Owner: ULSS 3 Serenissima
Location: Venice-Mestre, Italy
Building Type: Healthcare
Type: Extensive & Intensive
System: Custom
Size: 215278 sq.ft.
Slope: 2%
Access: Accessible, Private

Photo: ©Enrico Cano, courtesy of Emilio Ambasz.

Photo: Massimo Benetazzo.

Photo: Massimo Benetazzo.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Architect: Emilio Ambasz, Hon. FAIA, Emilio Ambasz & Associates
Architect of Record: Alberto Altieri, Studio Altieri
Emilio Ambasz & Associates Collaborators: Lucas Fornari, Luca Cerutti, Giulio Altieri, Valentina Altieri, Alessandro Melotto, Francesco Viero, Chiara Urso, Giulia Andreotti, Peter Norris, and Bradley Whitermore
A.T.I. for Project & Construction: C.O.MES. scrl Costruzione nuovo Ospedale di Mestre
Limited Responsibility Consortium Company: Astaldi (Mandatary), Ing. E. Mantovani (Building Company), Mattioli
Mechanical Plants: Cofathec Progetti (Project), STEAM (Consultants)
Electrical Plants: Gemmo Impianti (Project), TIFS (Consultants)
Consultants: Prof. Vitaliani, TIFS
Greenroof Products: DRAINroof & Geoflor, Geoplast
Climate Control: Cofatech
Facade System (Glass Sail): Teleya
Greenroof Installation & initial 2-year Maintenance: Benetazzo Spacioverde
Landscape Architect/Design for Atrium: Caterina Benetazzo (now of Ambiens Vitae), Benetazzo Spacioverde

Photo: Caterina Benetazzo, Ambiens Vitae.

Photo: Massimo Benetazzo, Benetazzo Spacioverde.

Photo: HQ Print Factory.

All the Info:

View the Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre – Angel Hospital) project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the international Greenroofs.com Projects Database.

Photo: ©Enrico Cano, courtesy of Emilio Ambasz.

Featured Project

Watch the Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre – Angel Hospital) Featured Project Video above or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.

Greenroofs.com Featured Project 9/10/18 video photo credits: Courtesy of Emilio Ambasz, ©Enrico Cano, and others; ULSS; Massimo Benetazzo, Benetazzo Spacioverde; Caterina Benetazzo, Ambiens Vitae; Enrico Ganz; Venezia Moderna; Google Maps; Scuola in Pedriatria “Ospedale dell’Angelo” Facebook page; Energo Group; Caotreno,  Maurizio EV and Alessandromiceli via Mapio; Dr. Comelato; Technostrutture; and Geoplast.

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