Nested stories

The research Architecture and Birth highlights birth centres emergence in France in 2020 as a non medicalised alternative to tensioned maternity hospitals. They must be adjacent to a hospital, and pose the challenge of designing a non-hospital space within a hospital environment. During the research, a soon-to-be-abandoned 12,000 m2 patient ward was discovered, — Hospital G. Pianta in Thonon-les-Bains. Built in 1968 by architect Maurice Novarina, it is now deemed unsuitable for hospital use due to issues such as overheating and lack of adaptability. However, it was originally designed as a sophisticated holistic care enclave, and remains a réservoir of strategically located space. Thus, the scope of the diploma project broadened from designing a birth centre to exploring this building's potential to remain in use. What if the non-hospital approach was applied to the whole building, allowing it to continue functioning as a patient ward while accommodating a birth centre? Aligned with the building's original concept and in response to the congested hospital context, the enclave is interpreted as an opportunity for interiority and protection. The project creates nested collective and individual spaces that foster tactile connections with vegetation, water, air, and sunlight. Providing a refuge for birthing people, patients, caregivers, and workers, while enhancing the thermal and visual comfort of the building and hosting a significant number of patients beds. Like a nested story, the encounter with an upcoming unused building during the research on birth spaces gives rise to new narratives within the heart of the patient ward.