Cystic Fibrosis Rehabilitation in a Rural Complex

The present diploma project oscillates between present needs and fragments of the past. It deals on the one hand with the rehabilitation of patients, on the other with the ‘restoration’ of the landscape in the Cretan landscape.

The characteristic spatial structure of the metohi, consisting of an area of orchard and a building core organised around a rectangular courtyard, allows the placement of the functions of the rehabilitation program according to the needed privacy. The programmatic structure of the rehabilitation consists of the habitation, as the program should last at least 8 weeks, and the functions dedicated to the body care of the patient, exercise, physiotherapy and nutrition. Located at the foot of the mountain, a linear element following the canvas of the orchard underlines the landscape and defines the new boundary of the metohi, hosting its more private uses, those of habitation and exercise. A secret garden dedicated to the patient’s body care, works together with the habitation, the existing orange grove and the courtyard through outdoor circulation. In the middle of the composition, a slab completes the geometry of the remaining core. From there you can perceive the whole synthesis and its dialogue with the landscape. The core of the metohi including the communal functions of the program such as the restaurant and clinic rooms, works as a transition from the private functions to the public square adjacent to the street. The proposal includes a variety of possible entrances and routes. We are not dealing with an entrance point but with an entrance area. The low planting of that area allows the visitor to realize the existence of the new volume at the background in balance with the building core of the metohi. Influenced from the purity of the orange grove, which is conserved, the whole synthesis is handled as it was a garden, revealing and redefining the surrounding landscape. After all, we are dealing with a “restoration” of the landscape.