EMERGENCY TERMINAL ZAGREB

Through a synthesis of architectural genres (hospital,
clinic, garage, administrative, and educational buildings)
the Emergency terminal emerges as a new urban
sign of safety, competence and speed. The 8-story facility
includes a reception and telecommunications service,
resuscitation clinic, in-patient clinic, Zagreb City?s
medical supply storage, a lecture hall and classrooms,
a laboratory (BSL-2), administration service, technical service
and multi-story garage accommodating 170 medical
vehicles.
Measuring up to the high criteria of contemporary architecture,
the institution, approximately 15,000 m? in surface
area, can serve 1 million citizens. The steel skeletal
construction with supported ceiling plates meets
the architectural demands of lightness and spatial variability.
An effective and rational solution for the large
surface of the façade is the membrane net structure.
The translucent character of the material (precontraint,
used here to this extent and for this purpose for the first
time) contributes to the varying perception of the building
during the day versus during the night. In the daylight
the house dominates with its volume and attracts
with the cleanness (sterility) of the color white. When lit
up at night the membrane façade turns the entire house
into a large, white lantern ?the white cube becomes
an illuminated landmark.