A Study on the Connection between Nature and Architectural Space in Le Corbusier's Venice Hospital Project

• Published in: Architectural research 2020, Vol.22 (4), p.113-122
• Main Authors: Yoon, Eunji, Lim, Yeonghwan
• Format: Article
• Language: Korean
• ISSN: 1229-6163

Hospital architecture must be planned as a therapeutic space. Numerous studies have proven that exposure to nature has a healing effect. However, research on the architecture itself about this issue is still insufficient. This study analyzed Le Corbusier's Venice hospital project and its architectural configurations with nature. Le Corbusier had been interested in blurring the interior/exterior line to draw nature inside. In his projects, nature was conceived in an abstract sense as "something green." However, in the hospital project, natural elements including vegetation, the lagoon, and light, and the landscape scenery they created, were considered in the harmony of the architectural space. The architectural spaces with courtyards, pilotis, and roof gardens provided views and direct access to nature, and in the interior spaces, the connections to these external spaces and the permeation of views of nature and sunlight were incorporated. Many spaces provided the possibility to actually encounter nature, with a variety of indoor/outdoor space configurations rather than a merely passive placing of some natural elements. This project is considered to be an important reference for contemporary hospital architecture, since the architectural space and nature connected through various spatial configurations also in healthcare programs. As Le Corbusier emphasized, sunlight, vegetation, and also architectural space should be an essential factor in therapeutic hospital architecture planning.