Although located on the eastern edge of the town, on the edge of a 1970s neighbourhood and an industrial zone, the Sainte-Musse hospital is a project of urbanism, choosing to spread out in order to blend successfully into its surroundings. It stretches out a long urban facade comprised of wide horizontal continuous lines in concrete constituting solar shading, and cinematographic frames on to the landscape for the rooms.

Its white colour gives an institutional feel. Neutral and durable. Economically rational. The hospital’s architecture pays reference to the modern luxury hotels on the Mediterranean, places of comfort, calm and pleasure, holiday destinations where people come for rest but also for inspiration, owing to the exceptional intensity of colour and light in the south.

The medical department building, the psychiatrics “square” and the administration building all share an entrance via a large linear area, a broad, tree-lined avenue where terraces and seating areas have been made, like the Ramblas in Barcelona. This forms a transition space between town and hospital, a hospital “threshold” that expresses ideas of dignity and civility, conveying feelings of comfort and reassurance.