Earth Architecture

The workshop will provide a practical opportunity to apply and test all the knowledge acquired through the other teaching modules, offering participants the chance to engage with a real-life redevelopment and extension project. Led by Benedetta Tagliabue, the workshop will focus on the transformation of the current hospital in Assisi into a paediatric hospice, with the ambition of establishing itself as a leading international centre of its kind.

The transition from life to death is perhaps the most profound and dramatic unresolved issue facing humanity. Human beings reject the concept of death, as it runs counter to every basic instinct and form of self-awareness. Yet, the end of life is part of the human experience, and when this occurs in the context of an illness or a clinical condition with a predictable course, the patient deserves the best care and attention necessary to be supported through the most complex and delicate transition of their life.

The project for a paediatric hospice, to be established within the grounds of the existing hospital in Assisi, will therefore be a project of great social significance – aimed at providing support and comfort to patients during the final stages of their lives – but also one of profound meaning, as it addresses the ultimate mystery of human nature: our own transience.

Architecture, after all, has always served transcendent and mysterious purposes – from religious buildings to funerary structures – and the ability of a design to influence people’s well-being – in any situation or context – makes architects just as essential as doctors in upholding the principles of quality of life and human dignity.

The design challenge will be realised through a technical approach that makes use of terracotta: this will comply with the required health and safety standards and be consistent with the architectural style of the hospital for which the extension is being planned.