La Casa del Xuklis

La Casa dels Xuklis is a building designed to accommodate families with children diagnosed with cancer who live too far away of the city and receives treatment in Barcelona. It is a pioneering project in Europe led by the Fundació Privada de Nenes i Nens amb Càncer and born of an initiative by the Associació de Familiars i Amics de Nens Oncològics de Catalunya (AFANOC). The Maggie’s Centres in Scotland inspired the project, but La Casa dels Xuklis goes one step further adding a ground-floor patio-residence in a garden next to the Paediatric Oncology department of the Hospital de la Vall d’Hebron, a leading cancer hospital for Spain, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. MBM Architects strived to combine the different programmatic elements within a humanistic architecture. The design of this project reflects a new direction, both medical and psychosocial, that also addresses the needs of careers. The residence has 25 homes of 30 m2 each, grouped into four pavilions that are identified with the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. These pavilions are organized around a typical Mediterranean courtyard. Each apartment is prepared to accommodate a family and is equipped with an articulated pitched roof that facilitates cross ventilation so as to save energy and keep the ill safe from air conditioning hazards. An independent day-pavilion has been built in the southern area of the site. There, non-resident families can enjoy a domestic space to relax and socialize. This building has also common areas like a kitchen, a dining room, a library, a game room and a vegetable garden. ”Health depends on a state of balance…a balance that, at the same time, is achieved daily when one lives in harmony with the environment” Hippocrates Considering the social plurality of users, the design of the building is based on the symbolic forms belonging to the basic discipline of architecture related to the “coexistence”. There are three: first is the Atrium – an open courtyard around which are organized the four pavilions with 25 small homes, meant to be secluded spaces for the patients and their families –; second is the Stoa – the porch on the south side, which is a space where residents can stay, think and converse calmlyn–; and third is the Agora – the south pavilion, which is a common space designed as a meeting point between residents, families, visitors and caregivers. An altruistic group of 30 designers coordinated by Casa Décor, have collaborated on the interior design of La Casa dels Xuklis. The design is simple and naturalistic. It integrates a critical understanding of the mood necessary to accompany the pain of the situation. Coexistence and the environment have been closely related concepts used by architects and interior designers. The materials and furnishings used are highly hygienic.