The idea stems from the desire to design an iconic, recognizable building with a strong, appropriate character that is worthy of the excellence of the new Heart Centre. The concept embodies the integration of expertise, care, and innovation, resulting in a compact, bright, and rational structure. The open and transparent envelope enhances natural light intake, improving comfort for both patients and staff. The form appears to have been sculpted, thanks to the use of parametric modelling, and is defined by white bands that frame the large glazed façades and recessed diagonal elements which emphasize the architectural asymmetry.
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The new Gemelli CUORE is located within the campus of the Università Cattolica – Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS in Rome, in a prestigious urban and natural setting, immersed in the beauty of the Eternal City. The compact, bright, and light building is functionally connected to the Emergency Department and the main hospital, integrating seamlessly into the existing healthcare system. Resting on a gentle hill, the structure harmoniously blends with the surrounding landscape through its curved, flowing lines, which formally define it and create a balanced composition. In this sense, the landscape design is an integral part of the hospital experience. The facility is, in fact, “embraced” by a large equipped park, featuring a Green Therapy pathway designed to accompany patients throughout their healing journey.
The design of this project was strongly focused on environmental sustainability, with full awareness of the significant impact that healthcare facilities have on the ecosystem. Cutting-edge solutions have been adopted to save energy and reduce environmental impact, with the goal of minimizing waste, consumption, noise emissions, and air pollution. The selected materials are certified as self-sanitizing, antibacterial, and self-cleaning, capable of eliminating harmful agents and organic compounds, in compliance with the Minimum Environmental Criteria (MEC). The new utility plants will be integrated with the existing networks of the Policlinico, ensuring operational efficiency. On the building's roof, Air Handling Units (AHUs) and a photovoltaic system will be installed, promoting the use of renewable energy sources.
The Gemelli CUORE will be a new center of excellence for the research, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Based on Value-Based Medicine and Organization, it will place patients at the heart of a multidisciplinary care pathway, that is fully integrated with local healthcare services.
The six-story building features a regular structural grid (7.80x7.80 m) with a five-body layout, organized into nine bays plus the end sections. This offers flexibility and adaptability to meet the hospital’s current and future needs.
At each end of the building, two volumes house the main entrances, which are designed as permeable vertical diaphragms to connect the external environment with the healthcare area.
Also located at the ends are two suspended bridges connecting CUORE with the main hospital and the Emergency Department. This allows to create distinct pathways for clean and soiled goods, medical and academic staff, inpatients and outpatients, and visitors.
The center will accommodate 104 inpatient beds and 29 intensive care ones, 24 outpatient clinics, 10 operating rooms (with 2 hybrid rooms equipped with multi-axis robotic angiography systems), a diagnostic unit with an MRI scanner and a CT one for cardiovascular imaging, and outpatient areas for telemedicine in augmented reality, where remote consultations will take place. At the core of the facility will be the Command Center, where healthcare staff and analytics teams will guide care pathways and resource allocation in real time.
“In the center we are going to build, the expertise and professionalism of Policlinico Gemelli's physicians, state-of-the-art clinical and information technology, and an organizational model based on the value of the outcome achieved for the individual patient will form an extraordinary combination that will create a health care facility unique in the world”. Prof. Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, honorary chairman of Fondazione Roma.
Binini Partners, founded in 1996 by Tiziano Binini, works in architecture, engineering and urban planning, thanks to integrated multidisciplinary professionalism, to achieve public and private works, buildings and infrastructures with creativity, elegance, and competence.
Our projects emerge from constant research for innovative design and advanced solutions able to meet the city and territory’s complex needs, combining functionality and beauty.