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ACTIU Berbegal y Formas, S.A.
Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital, Vigo
July 2015 | 3 minutes

The Álvaro Cunqueiro hospital in Vigo is one of the biggest in Europe, which was designed, for the wellbeing of patients, by Luis Vidal Arquitectos. It is inspired by the sails of a ship under a concept of healing architecture, reflected through the creation of space illuminated by natural light, and has the presence of a therapeutic garden as an element of reducing stress. The project has been awarded the International Award for Best Hospital of the Future, as the best project in the field of health at European level.

It is the largest construction from the public health centre which has been undertaken in the last few years in Spain. With this new healthcare infrastructure, it provides the answers, with the vision of the future, to the largest healthcare area in Galicia: 600.000 inhabitants. It has a surface area of 280.000 m2, divided over several functional areas that, as well as the hospital itself, (operating rooms, consultation, specialties, emergency ...), a heliport, a library, a nursery, a cafe, a teaching area with research and training classrooms and an auditorium.

The designer and Project Manager Andreu Belenguer, responsible for the interior design of these large hospital grounds, wanted to prioritise the selected companies to supply the installation, the ability to customise all the equipment as well as the guarantee and quality of the products in the time. Actiu answered the needs raised, by adapting and designing specific office furniture to furnish each one of the requested areas.

Modular cabinets, placed in strategic areas, facilitate access to documentation, filing and further material that is required daily in a hospital.

The Vital Plus was chosen to furnish the consulting areas, training and teaching rooms and the library, amongst others. In each case, the desk is adapted to the needs and aesthetics of the space.

For example, one of the areas which has had the most attention paid to it, is Andreu Belenguer's design studio, so that patients feel close to their doctor and that the furniture in this case does not act as a barrier. Actiu has customised a desk in the shape of a drop which enables a warm and close relationship between patients and their companions, if any. These consulting desks possess two clear work areas, an exclusive administrative area and another one dedicated to patient attention. To cite another example of customisation, it has adapted the modesty panel of the desk, bringing it closer to the top.

The new health centre has an auditorium with the capacity for 250 people, designed to guarantee optimal acoustics and comfort through Audit seating by Actiu which ensure ergonomic volumes and a stable recovery from the folding position. They have been installed using black upholstery and the end of the arms in wood, in line with the characteristics of the interior design of the room.

The library is a bright and diaphanous space where the furniture fuses itself with the environment creating a feeling of lightness and spaciousness. 

The Vital Plus desks have been installed in this case with lighting and an electrification system, accessible from the same desktop, so that one can connect all kinds of electronic devices. The cabinets installed along the entire wall have been combined with wood and glass, bringing elegance and exposing a portion of the content they house.

The awarded Wing chair (The Red Dot Award and the Design Award 2015 for the best product design) with a vintage style design which fits into any environment and meets the aesthetic needs of new trends in collective furniture, was chosen for the cafe area, accompanied by the Tabula table with base.

This is a project designed and reflected on by the designer Andreu Belenguer, in which the wellbeing of people who are going to use the hospital has dominated, such as its furniture, always articulating the content in a natural and functional way.

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