Space dedicated to children’s health from now on and with a big prize!
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rchitectural Atelier Hržić won the Grand Prix Big See award for the Salve Children’s Clinic – a place where children feel safe, happy and playful.
This award is particularly significant because it is the only one that went to Croatia this year, especially if you take into account that out of more than 1,000 submitted projects from all over the world, only five were awarded for interior design, of which each award was for a specific category.
The Salve Polyclinic stands out due to the uniqueness of the space and attention to detail
Architect Andrea Hržić Šesnić explained to us how care was taken for the spaciousness and functionality of the entire space:
The internal arrangement of the rooms follows a circular flow around the central core, where the sanitary facilities are located. In addition to the central part, there is a doctor’s office in the southern part, isolation room, a laboratory, a meeting room, a doctor’s council, doctor’s offices on the northern facade, staff rooms, and a hall for exercises and lectures. In the Salvea Polyclinic, great importance is given to mutual communication and a team approach and the connection of all rooms was organized in this way. The director’s office is located near the reception. Certain rooms, such as the hall, are multifunctional, i.e. easily adaptable to different activities that are organized for the youngest at the Polyclinic.
However, what makes our polyclinic special is not only the functional layout, but the way in which all the rooms are designed and illuminated with natural light. All main areas, including surgeries, are illuminated with natural light and have the possibility of ventilation, while the service rooms are located in the central part of the building. The basic design idea was to maximize the lighting of the interior spaces, to create communications that are not only corridors but also places to stay, sit and play.
The space was designed with a lot of attention to color, forms and materials, adapted to children so that they feel comfortable and relaxed.
In the interior, birch wood predominates, used for interior joinery and glass walls, while the floor is covered with a special woven vinyl of a neutral color with color accents in the places of rest and play.
The acoustic perforated ceiling not only contributes to the acoustic comfort of the space, but with its design it moves to the vertical surfaces of the waiting rooms, where it becomes an interactive board for children’s games.
The surgeries are enriched with built-in wardrobes of different colors made of perforated sheet metal, which become a platform for interaction between doctors and children. In each room, the wardrobes are in a different, attractive color for children. In addition to enabling informal play and monitoring of children’s motor reactions, these cabinets also serve as exhibition spaces for children’s drawings and thank you notes. Thus, every corner of this polyclinic becomes a didactic background, encouraging interaction and personification.
The reception desk, designed as an organic portal of neutral color, together with the polyclinic signage, uses elements of organic forms and tones that run through the entire space. These coloristic leitmotifs are united in the aesthetics of the polyclinic, which is organic, natural, playful and interactive. – emphasizes the architect Andrea Hržić Šesnić.
During the arrangement, every detail was thought of, and many factors were taken into account, which are essential for the arrangement of a healthcare institution like this. Obtaining permits, meeting the laws, medical needs, taking care of the safety of the youngest, and at the same time achieving a pleasant design, ambience and aesthetics from the rough-and-tumble space with which we started at the beginning of last year, the Grand Prix award proved to be the crown of joint work and cooperation between the Salve Polyclinic and Architectural Atelier Hržić.
The complete investment in the space is far more than the design itself. It is equipped with the most modern ventilation systems, feng shui moments were also taken into account when choosing the colors and layout of the rooms, the lighting and other elements in the space were chosen by well-known Croatian designers, while a young Croatian artist was chosen for the artistic paintings that give the Polyclinic a special touch. .
“The space where patients stay is very important for both patients and employees. It is important that they feel safe, protected, satisfied and relaxed. We thought about how to achieve excellence in every segment, both in medicine and in everything we do that contributes to a better patient experience. We want to be a leader in Croatia when it comes to this kind of organization of healthcare institutions and to give healthcare in Croatia a new dimension. We are extremely glad that it has been recognized internationally,” said the director Marija Bošnjak
This award is the best indicator of what can be achieved when architecture is combined with understanding and love for its users. Architectural Atelier Hržić proved that spaces can be not only functional, but also inspiring, creating places where children can feel safe, happy and playful, even when they visit the doctor.