ARX Portugal: blood bank, Coimbra, Spain.ARX Portugal is a collective of architects established in Lisbon in 1991 by brothers Jose and Nuno Mateus, both graduates of the city's Technical University. This project for a regional blood centre in the university city of Coimbra is their second such building (the first was in Porto, AR July 2004). Due for completion in 2007, the centre serves local hospitals and pharmaceutical companies by providing blood collection, analysis and storage. Blood processing requires super hygienic hy·gien·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to hygiene. 2. Tending to promote or preserve health. 3. Sanitary. conditions to avoid contamination, but regular scientific and technical advances also mean that the procedures involved can change, so the building had to have a high degree of internal flexibility. In Porto, the blood centre wrapped itself around a set of courtyards like a folding ribbon; here it is a more rooted, object building in the landscape, partly dug into a sloping site. Its whale-like bulk is pierced pierced adj. 1. Cut through with a sharp instrument; perforated. 2. Of or relating to a body part that has been perforated for the purpose of attaching a piece of jewelry. 3. by long horizontal slashes of glazing Glazing The application of finely ground glass, or glass-forming materials, or a mixture of both, to a ceramic body and heating (firing) to a temperature where the material or materials melt, forming a coating of glass on the surface of the ware. and at one end it opens up to form a large vitrine overlooking o·ver·look tr.v. o·ver·looked, o·ver·look·ing, o·ver·looks 1. a. To look over or at from a higher place. b. the site. Responding to the sequences involved in blood analysis and processing, internal planning is highly logical and methodical me·thod·i·cal also me·thod·ic adj. 1. Arranged or proceeding in regular, systematic order. 2. Characterized by ordered and systematic habits or behavior. See Synonyms at orderly. , but though highly functional, the building has a thoughtful refinement. C. S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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