Stella Maris Institute: Building Design for a Neuropathology Clinic and Research Centre
- Submitting institution
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University of Portsmouth
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 7118193
- Type
- K - Design
- Open access status
- -
- Month
- April
- Year
- 2017
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- The new Stella Maris Institute is a clinical, therapeutic and research centre for young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, mostly Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ADS), which is currently under pre-construction in Pisa. It will be the only such specialist centre with residential capacity for children and adolescents in Italy. The winning design, conceived and led by Alessandro Melis and selected from among world renowned competitors, is submitted as a single item supported by contextual information.
The project innovates in its architectural configuration and the advanced technology used in planning and execution. The unique three-pointed star-shape of the ground plan provides an axial space that combines the functions of reception, forum and recreational area for all the users, allowing gardens and parkland to flow towards the heart of the building. Melis worked with researchers at the present Stella Maris Institute, among others, to make a design geared holistically to the distinctive psychological, sensory and clinical welfare needs of non-neurotypical young people and their families. It includes welcoming residential rooms, a café, retail services and play-spaces featuring installations that are aesthetically attuned, functional and fun, including robotics for non-human interaction.
Melis’ design develops in practice his ideas of ‘exaptation’, derived from the dialogue between architectural and biological theory, by incorporating functional flexibility and potential repurposing to enhance sustainability. The facade is entirely transparent, with passive solar energy managed sustainably by means of a white spiral brise soleil. Under the management of the Stella Maris Foundation, this 300-employee interdisciplinary institute is affiliated to the University of Pisa, the national health system and the Tuscan regional government. It will cater for 1,700 patient residential stays per year, and 4,000 outpatient visits. The new design has been the subject of several newspaper articles, scholarly and specialist studies.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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