Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital By Davide Macullo Architects

Interior design, external facade design, landscaping, masterplan.
The new Ashdod hospital is born out of the roots and the culture of Israel. We regard it as a home for the inhabitants of Israel- whoever finds himself here, feels at home. The project has been shaped through symbolic design choices that serve, through every detail, to root this new organism to the ground that hosts it. The project has been developed through the careful consideration of the sensations of both the people who find themselves, at critical moments of their lives, in need of care, and of those who work here. The new communal home has been designed through the eyes of all of those who will benefit from its services, who will experience important moments in an atmosphere of harmony and joy.
Project:                                                           SAMSON ASSUTA ASHDOD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Location:                                                        Ashdod Israel
Function:                                                        Public Hospital
Project start date:                                         May 31, 2011
Construction start date:                              March 1,2012
Completion date:                                           May 31, 2017
Site area:                                                         70,000 m2
Building area (foot print):                            11,500 m2
Total floor area:                                             72,000 m2
Basement floor area:                                    26,000 m2
Above ground floor area:                              46,000 m2
Volume:                                                            290,000 m3
Storeys:                                                            2 basement levels, 7 levels above ground
Materials:                                                        Main structure: reinforced concrete
Finish, exterior:                                              Facade: Natural stone 3 colors, Aluminum and Glass curtain walls and windows
Finish, interior:                                              Walls: sheetrock and concrete with painted finish
Ceilings: sheetrock and metal trays with painted finish
Floors: granite porcelain tiles
Client:                                                              Assuta Ashdod
Responsible client:                                        Professor Shuki Shemer, Rachel Shmueli
Client advisor:                                                Prof. Dan Oppenheim, Pnina Shleifer
Project Management:                                    Margolin Bros. – Natan Margolin PM;    CPM – Shlomo Cohen PM/DM
– Eyal Hochman PM/CM
Architects:                                                       Davide Macullo Architects – Lugano – CH
Partner Architects:                                        Marcelo Brestovesky – Tel Aviv – Is
Studio Redaelli – Vimercate – I
Design collaborators:                                    Macullo Office: Aileen Forbes Munnelly, Michele Alberio.
Brestovesky Office: Shuna Reigler, Ranit, Ziv. YMS Office: Shem Tov
Tsuriah. Redaelli Office: Pierfranco Cattaneo, Guido Pirovano.
Landscape architect:                                     Orit Elhaiany Perez-Haifa Is
Design of the children sites:                        Avi Shterenfeld
Project Management: Construction:          Partnership between CPM-Margolin Bros.-Is
Danya Cebus Contractors
Structural engineer:                                      Israel David
Plumbing engineer:                                       Baruch Hendler
Electrical engineer:                                       Yosi Aharoni
Soil engineer:                                                  Adi Lerer
HVAC engineer:                                             Yosi Shaprut-Harvaak
Construction/Site Management:                Muli Goren-Danya Cebus Contractors
Safety/Fire engineer:                                     Shmuel Natanel
Handicapped engineer:                                 Zvika Gur
Lighting engineer:                                          Michal Kantor
Facades engineer:                                          Stella Tallisman
Printing company:                                         Kav Haatakot
Construction company:                                 Denya-Cebus Contractors
Windows/Curtain wall construction:         Alum Eshet
Heating-HVAC:                                             Mashav
Plumbing:                                                        Karnil
Electrical:                                                        Schneider
Skeleton Contractor:                                     Brosh-Nir Contractors
Plasterer, painter:                                         Danko-Yaniv
Metal construction:                                       Kobi Yosi
Carpenter:                                                       Danko-Yaniv
Floor tiles construction:                               Danko-Yaniv
DAVIDE MACULLO ARCHITECTS
Furnitures:                                                         Bet Alfa,Miraz
Landscape Development
Contractor:                                                      Ben Ari
Photographer Flowers:                                 Doron Horovitz
Photographer Architecture:                         Itay Sikolski

The ‘hospital of flowers’ reflects the original shared desire of the team to create an environment even before creating a building. The first and lasting impression of the hospital is one of a landscape in bloom. Throughout the gardens, we have chosen indigenous vegetation, acting as the common denominator for a people coming from far and wide. You approach the new medical facility through the green oases, each one representing a region of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Golan Heights, calculating the distance to be traveled, not too long and not too short, just enough to take in the scents and enjoy the colours, enough to think about the beauty of the country and feel privileged to be part of it. Above all what we do not want is to dwell on our illness- the hospital is here to take care of that.

The precision of the design of the new volumes conveys to the users not only the quality of the care taken in the execution of details and the extent of the technological know-how but also the breadth of human knowledge they can expect invested in their medical treatment. Carved out of the land of Israel, the stones that cover the structure of the building create a pixilated drawing, a puzzle made from the material of choice for construction in Israel suggesting that the hospital has been built with pieces of homes scattered around the country.


Internally, the natural oases are transformed into artificial oases. As in Art, architecture is nothing but the representation   of   nature.   The   interior   spaces   are   punctuated   and   animated   by   photographic representations of the nature that is outside: the natural landscape of Israel, the nature that unites its people. Those who come to the hospital will follow a particular flower, which represents a particular cure. We have chosen flowers because they express the beauty, harmony and joy, because they are an expression of life and love of life.