Birth Unit at Nuevo Belén Hospital, Madrid, Spain (2013)

Angela Elisabeth Müller

This New Birth Unit has been a fascinating project being so much more than architectural work, as not only a new space was created but also midwives were catered for. It is a small project in size (130m2), but represents a completely new concept in the Spanish capital.

While birthrates in Spain are dropping and women have new demands, our aim together with the clients is to securing long-term sustainable service and business by “better births= more births”.

The Birth Unit has opened in September 2013, and excellent obstetric results of the first 100 childbirths confirm the success of this integrative project.

Situated in the heart of Madrid Nuevo Belén hospital is a small, traditional maternity clinic. The location within the building is important as specific conditions are needed for a good birth room: natural light and views, silence, privacy and good internal connections to surgery room, NICU, etc. The project consisted of reconverting an empty wing with 8 patient rooms into the new Unit. Six rooms were turned into three birthing rooms.

As soon as you enter the Unit, you´ll feel the difference, the traditional hospital corridor has been broken up to offer niches to sit down and rest. Each birth room has an entrance area that serves as a place to relax within the room whilst being filtered with mobile Japanese screens to obtain privacy. A singular furniture element divides the room and gives privacy to the birth pool area. Inside the ensuite the medical equipment is easily accessible for professionals, but out of sight for the woman, ensuring a calm environment. At the same time this singular element is especially designed to support different birthing positions.

We carefully selected materials, colours and textures in order to avoid associations with a hospital, and decrease the stress levels of the birthing women.

Those new spaces made it possible for professionals to work in a completely different way. Nuevo Belén is also an ongoing research project.

Project Gallery

01 Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

02 Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

03 Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

04 Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

05 Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

Plano_Nuevo Belén Hospital_Madrid_Parra-Müller.jpg

Angela Elisabeth Müller AT

https://parramuller.com/
Marktplatz 2 | 5163 Mattsee/ Salzburg