HEALTH HOUSE

The design was based on respect for the existing building, from which the elements of lesser architectural and construction quality were eliminated (bodies B, C and external projecting stairwells to bodies D and E for access to the first floor) and those of greater (albeit modest) architectural value were maintained, in order to try to increase their weight in terms of relationship with the built environment, especially as an alternative relationship between solids (pre-existing architectural elements) and voids (project architectural elements), the built environment being characterised by greater dimensions and higher quality.
In order to contribute to building a relationship of harmony with the surrounding area, in addition to recovering the most interesting features of the existing architecture (structural solutions for the former kitchen, now the Archive, systems of openings and roof overhangs for bodies D and E), few of new architectural elements have been introduced, clearly recognisable and standardised with maximum physical and visual lightness to guarantee the legibility of the new intervention, a sort of "anastylosis". A readability that aims to translate into the best possible identification of the new overall function, and of the specific ones dedicated to healt, with an enhancement of the internal spaces through a "permeable" relationship with the external ones (very few), in order to enhance their "dimension" and the representative role of the upgraded building in the context of Orvieto's historical centre.