MBM 60 years of architecture and city, 1951-2011

Venue.- Association of Architects of Catalonia (COAC). Plaça Nova, 5 - 08002 Barcelona.

Date.- Thursday, October 27, 2011. 7,30 pm.
 

MBM ARQUITECTES DESIGNS THE “CASA DELS XUKLIS”, A SUSTAINABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR CHILDREN WITH CANCER.
 

The Casa dels Xuklis is a sustainable accommodation for children with cancer designed by MBM Arquitectes (Josep Martorell, Oriol Bohigas, David Mackay, Oriol Capdevila and Francesc Gual). This project, driven by AFANOC and the Private Foundation of Children with Cancer, is located in Barcelona and will receive its first residents in October 2011.

This organization detected that there are families with children diagnosed with cancer who live too far away from the hospital, and have difficulty in finding adequate accommodation for the frequent visits that the various treatments require. At the same time, an optimal environment contributes in affected children caring.

The Casa dels Xuklis responds a new demand of health buildings and has two main parts: the apartments (where families live) and the public areas.

The twenty-five 30 m² apartments are grouped in four separate pavilions each facing a different way around the traditional Mediterranean patio tilted in plan to create social corners. Each dwelling has a covered porch facing the garden, protected with two slatted wooden doors, that when opened extend the privacy into the garden itself. This ensures a delicate balance between privacy and community relationships while the patio, with its cubic basin with the splash of recycled water from the fountain, together with deciduous tree creates an agreeable micro-climate for the families together.

The more public accommodation, the library with its different areas for small groups, the dining area with the porch giving protection from the mid-afternoon sun, and the community kitchen in the centre are gathered together under a separate roof that follows the irregular curves of the plan. Over the kitchen there is an attic overlooking the library for conferences and other future activities.

MBM Arquitectes is an architectural studio with sufficient capacity to absorb large projects without losing control of the architectural quality. It was founded by Josep Martorell and Oriol Bohigas in 1951, David Mackay was incorporated in 1962 and Oriol Capdevila and Francesc Gual in 2000. Headquartered in Barcelona, MBM Arquitectes has planned and carried out, during the last 60 years, many projects responding to different climates and cultures in architecture, urbanism and design in more than 60 European cities as well as Argentina, Mexico and Morocco.