The emergence of the polyclinic as a new type of healthcare facility in Slovakia dates back to the second half of the 20th century. The goal of such construction was to provide a unified and centralized outpatient care center with an emphasis on preventive medicine, thereby replacing private doctors’ offices. Their spatial concept was therefore based on a so-called corridor layout with a central staircase, which allowed for the strict separation of individual units.
The Ružinov Polyclinic represents one of the most significant and architecturally valuable works of this typological category. Unlike other strictly rational healthcare facilities, the Ružinov Polyclinic is characterized by elegance, soft forms, and flowing lines. The building’s main distinguishing feature is its unique spatial layout based on a Y-shaped floor plan. The building consists of three separate three-wing sections that converge at a single central point. This design allowed the architect to optimally organize the facility’s operations and efficiently direct patient flows to individual medical blocks according to specialty. The heart of the entire composition is a spacious entrance foyer located at the intersection of all three wings. This central circulation hub is dominated by a subtle, elegantly shaped staircase and elevator core, which connect the individual floors and lend the otherwise functional interior a surprising airiness and aesthetic lightness.
From an urban planning perspective, the health center was very sensitively integrated into the broader context of the newly emerging Trávniky housing estate and the planned central recreational axis of Ružinov. Architect Ščepán responded to the morphology of the surrounding area and the proximity of Štrkovecké Lake by designing the facades of the individual wings with a smooth concave curve. The building’s dynamic character and horizontal presence are emphasized by long, continuous bands of windows, which provide ample natural light in both the outpatient clinics and the hallways. The Ružinov Polyclinic is one of a series of exceptional architectural works from the 1960s in Slovakia that harmoniously built upon the elegance of curved lines and the lightness of poetic functionalism. Together with the Type II hospital and polyclinic complex in Ružinov, they form a cohesive ensemble of public healthcare buildings of citywide significance.
author of the description: Laura Krišteková
Bibliography:
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