San Bernardino Medical Center

San Bernardino Medical Center

Located near two hospitals, Richard Neutra’s San Bernardino Medical Center is a group of small, white-stucco buildings with vertical metal louvers. By setting the building back from the street by one-hundred feet and planting a grove of fig, magnolia, and walnut trees in the intervening space, Neutra guaranteed the buildings’ privacy and diminished the effect of urban noise. The structures allow for frequent views of nature, including through windows as well as several large, gardened patios. In addition, these extensive windows allowed natural light to penetrate the space; daylit corridors were intended to reduce the stress of those who used them. However, Neutra also allowed for protection from harsher sun rays by creating deep overhangs out of a perforated metal screen. In organizing the space, Neutra did not design a simple row of offices, acknowledging that each clinic had a different specialty that had specific demands and time requirements. By taking into account the needs of doctors as well as patients, he guaranteed a more well-ordered practice that maintained the doctors’ stability and health, allowing them to continue serving their patients. The design also permitted a future expansion, and storage spaces were strategically located at the edge of the building so that they would continue to be accessible should this occur.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 274.