Humanitas Centro del Mediterraneo – hospital centre

Misterbianco, in Sicily (CT)

Project objectives

Efficiency, rapid construction, integration with the landscape, earthquake resistance, attention to detail and high control of the technical and construction process: these are the themes underlying the design of the Centro del Mediterraneo, built by Humanitas just outside Catania.
Our engineering office and construction company worked closely with the client and other companies in the consortium to deliver the building on time and on budget.
The service was achieved entirely with BIM technology, allowing high standard design and construction accuracy as well as constant collaboration between the various disciplines involved. Real-time management of interference between the various project areas has made it possible to minimise waste and facilitate the planning of site activities and future maintenance.

Our intervention

The Humanitas hospital complex, an innovative place of care, rises discreetly amidst the rural landscape of Catania. The planimetric composition identifies the actual hospital in the central area of the lot and all around the pertinent buildings with which its functions integrate.
The shape of the building arises from specific functional needs and is designed to avoid overlapping flows (staff, patients, visitors, goods, etc.). The two towers house the inpatient wards with a total of 240 beds, while the pods perform outpatient and surgical functions. The large structural mesh and partitions, made entirely of drywall, guarantee considerable flexibility of interior spaces, which are capable of meeting any potential future needs of the oncology department.
The design choices aim to preserve the landscape heritage by limiting the use of land in favour of large gardens to which patios and green terraces are added to create pleasant spaces for patients.

Technical tips

From a structural point of view, the high seismic hazard of the area led to the definition of a seismically isolated reinforced concrete structure, capable of ensuring the complete operation of the building both during and after the seismic event by means of “double friction pendulum” isolators.
Thanks to our collaborated efforts with Sidersipe Spa the construction of the structures, facilitated by the use of flat slabs reinforced with Bamtec reinforcement mats, an innovative technology that was utilised throughout this project, only took 8 months, The architectural part of the project was exclusively dry construction, using prefabricated blocks for the bathrooms. The control of the project during the construction phase was carried out in a capillary manner, through accurate weekly and monthly reports involving the client and the construction management.