veterinary hospital echos the fluid forms of the landscape
Following a decade of continuous engagement with Albania’s evolving architectural scene, Davide Macullo Architects has completed its Veterinary Hospital in Tirana. Located on the outskirts of the city, the building contains a medical facility behind its sculptural silhouette comprised of soft geometries that echo the fluid forms of the natural terrain. With curves carved from concrete, these masses come together to create a series of waves, which, despite their Brutalist rigidity, form a network of spaces that invite interaction and slow down the experience of space.
Inside, this sense of ease and fluidity is a manifestation of a tenet central to the studio’s approach. In a previous conversation with designboom, founding architect Davide Macullo explained that every project responds to its surroundings through deep observation. ‘Our aim is for buildings to integrate harmoniously into their surroundings — enriching the environment and making people feel at ease through their interaction with light, color, and form,’ he shares. The Veterinary Hospital reflects this ethos through its form reflective of organic layers of land, along with an unorthodox approach to clinical architecture. They have developed a building for animals and their caretakers underpinned with a deep understanding of psychology of space.
all images courtesy of Davide Macullo Architects
the sculptural concrete facade contains a fluid spatial program
The Veterinary Hospital folds Davide Macullo Architects’ core ideas of designing in response to surroundings and local culture, mixed with a subtly sculptural approach. Here, the artful concrete curves are inspired by the landscape, their fluidity extending inward to eliminate any atavistic fears of enclosure, creating an open and freeing environment. The Swiss practice consciously avoids sterile typologies and embraces a bold visual language shaped by empathy, psychology, and movement. A clear logic defines the plan, guided by spatial psychology and the behavioral dynamics between species. Areas for cats and dogs are thoughtfully separated, circulation paths are intuitive, and outdoor terraces offer therapeutic spaces where animals can recover in contact with the elements.
Materially, the project balances rawness and refinement. The brutalist expressions of concrete are used to ground the building in its context, while its mass is softened by planted terraces and gently sloping lines that blur the boundary between built and natural. The building’s curved forms also eliminate the rigid, institutional feel common to healthcare facilities, replacing it with a more open and humane language.
Davide Macullo Architects completes Veterinary Hospital in Tirana
the building contains a medical facility behind its sculptural silhouette
curves carved from concrete, these masses come together to create a series of waves
within, the curves form a network of spaces that invite interaction and slow down the experience of space
its mass is softened by planted terraces and gently sloping lines
the brutalist expressions of concrete are used to ground the building in its context
project info:
name: Veterinary Hospital
architect: Davide Macullo Architects | @davidemaculloarchitects
location: Tirana, Albania
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