Certain building types provoke certain emotional responses from people: no more so than in the case of the healthcare center, believe architects Jesús Irisarri Castro and Guadalupe Piñera Manso. Recognizing this, the pair sought to make their Health Center in Miño an “extroverted and lively” building, driven by the dynamism of life.

The architects conceived of the building as an “excavated block.” They employed a geometry cable of generating spaces and facades that can function in different ways at different times. The building’s hollowed core contains courtyard aligned on a north-south axis. Suspended above this open space, a corridor links the upper level and provides visual interest.

Along the courtyard walls, perforated polycarbonate panels subtly mediate indoor and outdoor spaces—suggesting the presence of air and greenery, while simultaneously enlarging the perceived size of the courtyard and the interior waiting rooms that adjoin it. The panels also helps unify the building’s varying heights and voids.