The Outpatient Clinic building of the University Hospital of Álava was created with the intention of grouping the medical consultations of the two hospitals in Vitoria-Gasteiz into a single centre. To do this, Gómez Puente Arquitectos proposed a simple and compact piece of 20,000 m² and 12 floors designed according to environmental sustainability criteria, with solar energy collectors for the production of thermal energy and panels to produce photovoltaic energy. It houses the different medical specialties' consulting rooms, the Álava Unified Laboratory, a radiodiagnosis area and various auxiliary areas.
The ensemble is articulated by a singular central element through which the accesses take place and inside which the vertical communication nuclei are located. This block's enclosure was solved by Gómez Puente Arquitectos with the installation of a CORTIZO curtain wall, a solution that allows maximum natural light to enter the building, while providing the project with an attractive design and responding to the needs of an energy efficient construction.
Specifically, the chosen option was the TPV 52 façade, a stick system based on a self-supporting structure with an ample range of mullions and transoms with a viewed section of 52 mm that allows to respond to the different aesthetic and constructive needs posed by architectural projects. The availability of a wide variety of profiles (with depths from 16 mm to 250 mm in mullions and from 22.5 mm to 255.5 mm in transoms) and mechanical joints enables the execution of this curtain wall with all kinds of arrangements: vertically, inclining, 90º corners, or corners and polygonals, the latter option being the one installed in this Outpatient Clinic Building of the Álava Hospital.
In this Cortizo TPV 52 façade, the fixing of the glass to the supporting structure is carried out using a mixed method. In the vertical edges, a pressor profile screwed from the outside is used, hidden by a rectangular aesthetic aluminium embellishing profile or cover, which also allows to hide the screws and highlight the vertical frame of the façade. However, the horizontal fixation is carried out with the combination of clips and an insert or profile with a “U” shape placed in the glass chamber.
In addition, this curtain wall offers excellent thermal and acoustic benefits, ideal for this type of sanitary architecture projects, based mainly on two aspects: a large thermal break area of up to 42 mm and a glazing capacity that can reach reach 44 mm with thick and energy efficient glass compositions. All this gives it thermal transmittance values from 0.6 W/m²K.
The Cortizo façade installed in this Outpatient Clinic Building of the Hospital of Vitoria has a flush mullion and transom for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level based on the introduction of three levels in the drainage channels for mullions and transoms. In addition, the inclusion of pipettes in the transom to mullion connections and of continuation parts in the conjunctions between mullions guarantees the evacuation of the possible condensation of water in the profiles. Its watertightness is also reinforced by the use of tear strip gaskets or a totally vulcanized corner cleat at the transom to mullion connections and butyl tape on the glass under the cover.
To facilitate ventilation inside the building, hidden outward opening windows have been arranged, a solution that also allows maintaining homogeneity in the exterior aesthetics of the façade. Meanwhile, the openings for building access have been resolved with the integration of carpentry systems, in this case the Cortizo Millennium Plus series.
Security is another of the characteristic features of this curtain wall, designed to resist wind loads, loads derived from its own weight, and seismic movements, transmiting them to the main structure of the building. The maximum performance of the CORTIZO TPV 52 façade is backed by the excellent results achieved in the AEV test benches (air permeability, watertightness and wind resistance), obtaining, in addition, the CWCT Certification according to British regulations after demanding tests carried out in the Wintech Enginnering Limited independent testing laboratory.
DATA SHEET
PROJECT. Álava University Hospital Outpatient Clinic Building
LOCATION. Vitoria-Gasteiz (Álava)
ARCHITECTS. Gómez Puente Arquitectos
CORTIZO SYSTEMS. TPV 52 Façade, COR 3500, Millennium Plus Door, Lattices
PHOTOGRAPHY: Wenzel
