This is a space designed primarily to include physical exercise as a part of treatment
for childhood cancer patients during their hospital stays.
The aim of this space is to join treatment with research in order to improve, in real time, patients' quality of life and in the short, medium, and long term, reduce the effects of the bed confinement syndrome they are subjected to from the moment they are diagnosed with cancer.
In this Treatment Unit physicians, therapists, and researchers interact with each other alongside the real protagonists of this project: the children.
The Physical Activity Area offers a place for free movement, along with exercises related to sports and games, so that patients are physically stimulated and entertained, while providing the hospital with an area for them to socialize in. Additionally, the space accommodates groups of patients that take turns carrying out routines and activities that benefit them physically and emotionally.
The Guided Exercise Area, which is lighted using a variety of sources, houses the exercise machines whose use is under professional supervision. All the machines found here are designed for the exercises recommended by physicians and then guided by therapists.
As evaluations are carried out here, there may be moments of emotional release which necessitate the importance of privacy in the physical activity areas.
The Research Laboratory, located in a module annexed to the pavilion with glass panels, is dedicated to the collection and measurement of the data obtained from the activities in the unit.
The lab, headed by a lead researcher, houses the equipment necessary for the collection of relevant data and its dissemination into a larger system of health and sports professionals, allowing for a broader preliminary study into the benefits of physical exercise as a cure for childhood cancer.
The architectural design envisioned by la Aceleradora Unoentrecienmil is brought to life by Murado & Elvira, a multidisciplinary design studio dedicated to innovative architectural projects and interior design, that, in this case, has created "a project for optimism, providing the children with a serene yet stimulating atmosphere through the use of a modular and renewable architecture system that can adapt itself to the different locations and needs of the hospital."
