Part of the Gregorio Marañón hospital complex, the new maternity ward takes up one of the blocks developed within the 19th century Plan Castro, east of Retiro Park. The building is inserted in a larger urban operation that links three blocks parallel to O’Donnell street, defining an interior garden for the interaction of the old and new constructions of the area.

The recently completed volume dealt with a complex program (maternity ward and children’s hospital) which, added to the intricate urban situation and the peaceful atmosphere that the spaces devoted to healthcare require, have led to an introverted yet permeable solution. The two hospitals are accessed through opposite corners of the plot and at different levels, thanks to the natural slope of the site. A transparent volume of steel and glass houses on ground floor the porch of access to the maternity ward from O’Donnell street, for which it is slightly set back; another porch at the junction of the streets Castelló and Márquez leads to the interior of the pediatric hospital, on the first floor.

A network of corridors around eight courtyards – 4 transversal and 4 longitudinal in two parallel rows – determines the organization of the hospitalization units. The +2 level, shared by both hospitals, houses the general services – surgery rooms, intensive care units, and delivery rooms – and performs as well as a link between the consultation and hospitalization areas, the latter comprising the three upper levels. The rooms for doctors on duty are located on the upper floor. The maternity and pediatric emergency areas both share the vehicle access, and are located in the first basement, along with the diagnostic imaging area. The staff dressing rooms, facilities, and supply areas are in the second and last basement.

The white glass that wraps both the exterior facades and the interior courtyards generates a calm atmosphere inside the hospital where light becomes the true protagonist: the reflection of the image is diluted, while that of light remains intact. A marked horizontal detailing defines the enclosure in each wall. The floors and baseboards of the corridors are clad in marble; the halls, in linoleum, and the wet areas, in stoneware. In each room, the window frame and the Majorcan shutter, both in maple wood, create a domestic atmosphere, the same aim pursued by the chrome-plated steel furniture designed ex profeso.

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