What could a hospital be beyond a place to treat the sick?

The Memphis Mission Hospital is the first ground-up charity mission hospital in the Philippines. With a project of this scale and importance, CAZA saw an opportunity to both improve access to health services in the region and introduce public programs that strengthen the community as a whole. Designed for Memphis Mission of Mercy, a charity focused on serving impoverished communities with little or no access to healthcare, the hospital will be a regional hub for humanitarian efforts and emergency medical response. To maximize impact, CAZA based the design on analyses of the challenges facing healthcare delivery in the Philippines, the types of treatments in most dire need, and the logistical hurdles of providing emergency services in a poorly connected region of more than 2.5 million people. 

The hospital includes state-of-the-art facilities for treatment, staff residences, and community spaces like a library, artist studio, and chapel. These programs are arrayed across four interconnected volumes in a distinct semi-open arrangement. This breaks down the hospital—often an imposing and monolithic building type—into a welcoming collection of smaller structures that feel like a neighborhood. Each of the buildings offers sweeping vistas over gardens from every window, making for an inviting and comfortable interior experience. Monumental steps lead to the operating rooms contained in a simple single-pitch structure clad in natural stone and bounded by a vegetable garden to the north.

PROGRAM OPTIMIZATION

After identifying demand for healthcare services in the region, CAZA developed a comprehensive program that responds directly to local needs. The hospital’s functions are split across four zones. Routine care and staff housing are arrayed near the main entrance, while surgical and inpatient services occupy two volumes further back from the public access road.

A NEW COMMUNITY CENTER

The design includes community facilities that establish the hospital as a regional hub, enhancing public visibility of and access to the healthcare and emergency services it provides. Upon arrival to the hospital, a large curved roof welcomes visitors to an open-air plaza. Entering, visitors find a library, a health-focused restaurant, consultation rooms, and a registration area—positioning the hospital as a resource for both patients and community members. Two public spaces at the eastern edge further integrate the building into community life: the chapel and artist studio.

DOCTORS’ AND NURSES’ RESIDENCES

Doctors’ and nurses’ residences allow key staff to be on-site for extended periods of time, enhancing emergency response capabilities. The residences are raised on a stone plinth to ensure privacy and enveloped in an aluminum rain screen that resembles the bamboo curtains of vernacular Filipino homes. Each bedroom faces a flower garden and is naturally lit from clerestory windows oriented towards the morning sun.

• SIZE: 272,800 SQF
• PROJECT TEAM: Carlos Arnaiz, Laura del Pino, Alden Ching, Kate Sarmiento, Gaby San Roman, Ignacio Revenga, Jun Deng, Xiao Tan, Queenie Xu