gil house - swatch ursinhos project lisbon, portugal In
a new social solidarity campaign, Swatch created the “Ursinhos”watch.
The revenue obtained with its sale was donated to the “Gil
Foundation” that useD the money to build a temporary post-hospital
internment support centre inaugurated the 11th july of 2006. Its main goal was to give all kinds of
assistance (medical, psychological, educational) to children from 0 to
12 years who need help to get back to their normal lives after staying
in the hospital for a long time. The chosen building is a rundown small
palace from 1942, located in a complex called “Parque da Saúde” (Júlio
de Matos Hospital), right in the centre of Lisbon The proposal
intended to keep the original architecture layout, but the inside of the
building had to be redesigned to meet the new program needs. All
this inside space is displayed around an inner yard reaching the
corridor, which generously provides sunlight to all the circulation
areas, creating a more pleasant and different environment from the one
experienced in a hospital.