Medical Practice Ruinen

A doctors' practice in Ruinen – about 150km outside of Amsterdam – is reflective of an ancient Greek approach to medicine.

Greek physician Hippocrates of Kos said the human body consists of four elements: mucus, blood, yellow bile and black bile. Later, Greek physician Claudius Galenus combined these four elements with water, fire, air and earth.

Dutch firm DLVZ looked to these models for inspiration in their design. The cross-shaped Ruinen medical building has four gardens and four small facades. The structure itself is made of five volumes: the entry with underneath cellar, a private space for staff, the waiting room, pharmacy and examining rooms.

‘By making a difference in sizes and proportions of spaces – especially in height – combined with different kinds of illumination, creates different atmospheres,’ say designers at DLVZ.

Photos courtesy Studio Christiaan de Bruijne.