Memphis Mission Hospital
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 serve as 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 treatments in most urgent demand, and the logistical hurdles of serving a poorly connected region of more than 2.5 million people.
The hospital includes state-of-the-art treatment facilities, staff residences, and community spaces like a library, artist studio, and chapel. These programs are arranged across four interconnected volumes in a semi-open modular configuration. This approach breaks down the monolithic hospital typology into a welcoming collection of smaller structures that feel like a neighborhood. Each building offers sweeping vistas over gardens, creating a comfortable, human-centered environment. 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.
Location
Victorias City, Philippines
Research Areas Regenerative Health
Typology Urban Design
Size
Large
272,800 sq. ft.
Status Under Construction
Project Team Carlos ArnaizLaura del PinoAlden ChingKate SarmientoGaby San RomanIgnacio RevengaJun DengXiao TanQueenie Xu
We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.
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 distributed through distributive networks into four zones: routine care and staff housing near the main entrance, with surgical and inpatient services occupying two volumes further back from the public 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 healthcare and emergency services. Visitors arrive under a large curved roof that shelters an open-air plaza. Inside, a library, health-focused restaurant, consultation rooms, and registration area welcome both patients and community members. Two public spaces at the eastern edge—a chapel and an artist studio—further integrate the hospital into everyday life.
Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.
Doctors' and nurses' residences
On-site residences for doctors and nurses ensure key staff are available for extended periods, bolstering emergency response capacity. Raised on a stone plinth for privacy and enveloped in an aluminum rain screen that echoes the bamboo curtains of vernacular Filipino homes, the residences align with principles of regenerative health, offering natural ventilation, flower gardens, and morning sun through clerestory windows.
By incorporating parametric design, metabolic architecture, and community-focused planning, Memphis Mission Hospital demonstrates how a healthcare facility can contribute to the health of people, place, and environment alike.
