New Santobono Hospital in Naples: technology and medicine designed for pediatric patients
Architects Albert de Pineda and Giovanna Pomo presented the New Santobono Pediatric Hospital in Naples on April 2, 2025 in Italy, together with the governor of Campania, Vincenzo de Luca, the general director of Santobono-Pausilipon, Rodolfo Conenna, and the professor of hospital design and urban health and director of the department of architecture at the Polytechnic of Milan, Stefano Capolongo.
The project aims to transform the hospital into an engine of urban revitalization in the eastern part of Naples, creating a multifunctional space and an urban forest accessible to the public.
Goal: to integrate games and high technology
The project is characterized by an innovative and child-scale approach, integrating games with high-tech environments. This design is intended not only for medical care, but also to reclaim urban space, returning green areas to the city through green roofs and parks.
The hospital complex will be the largest in Italy, with a surface area of 85,000m2, and it will be divided into different areas: auditorium, offices, hospital stays, humanization areas and a research tower.
The humanization area will bring together therapeutic gardens, playing areas, urban vegetable gardens and an educational farm. These elements act not only as spaces for the emotional recovery of the patient, but also as points of connection with the urban environment and revitalization of the neighborhood.
Functional plan: technological complexity and ultraspecialist approach
The hospital will have 437 beds, of which 60 will be for intensive and semi-intensive care and 78 for day hospital stays. The surgical block will consist of 14 operating rooms, traditional and hybrid, with state-of-the-art equipment for neonatal and pediatric surgery, including robotic systems, intraoperative CT scans and intraoperative 3T MRI scans. In addition, advanced nuclear medicine technologies will be installed, such as PET, CT and SPECT, which will allow for an accurate diagnosis of oncological, neurological and cardiac pathologies.
The New Pediatric Hospital will have a robotic pharmacy and an automated system for the production of parenteral nutrition bags, as well as an advanced drug preparation system to ensure the safety and efficacy of treatment.
Architectural design: a city within the hospital
The model has adopted a diagonal hospitalization solution – as opposed to the traditional bars layout – which improves views, lighting, optimizes internal circulation, reduces corridor length and the number of vertical lifting points.
The layout includes three levels with areas for socialization and humanization, such as healing gardens, courtyards, terraces, and cultural and exhibition spaces to encourage the integration of art into the hospital environment. Patients and their families will have additional services such as kitchens, laundries, relaxation areas, commercial areas and playrooms, while staff will have support services such as nurseries and rest areas.
Like all children’s hospitals designed by PINEARQ, the Nuovo Santobono is characterized by its adaptation to the pediatric patient, being accessible, inclusive, with special attention to circulation, colors, sounds, with welcoming spaces and a care offer organized by levels of care intensity, divided into homogeneous functional areas of technological complexity and ultra-specialist approach. The hospital circuits will be assisted, using both tactile and plantar indications that guarantee orientation and safety for blind people, and apps for navigation within the hospital and guidance in the use of services.
Access to the site is progressive, through a typically Mediterranean portico, which filters the light, protects and accompanies the visitor into the interior. A large street divides the hospital and easily guides the public to the different functional areas. As for the internal circulation, there is a clear separation of the different internal flows that ensures a safe and efficient environment for patients, minimizing the risk of cross-contamination. Routes for patients and visitors follow controlled itineraries, while medical staff use specific routes to reach wards, operating rooms and restricted areas.
“It is not a traditional hospital; it is designed to be welcoming for children by combining play with advanced technology, quality, and sustainability, both socially, physically, and environmentally” explained Albert de Pineda during the presentation.
The rooms, which can accommodate up to two patients along with their companions, benefit from abundant natural light thanks to large windows and the building’s diagonal layout, which allows views of the outside from both beds, either of Mount Vesuvius or the sea. Additionally, each room is equipped with an interactive and multifunctional technological device for entertainment, multidisciplinary consultations, and clinical and service information.
Cutting-Edge Technology for Scientific Research and Diagnosis
The hospital will be a benchmark in technological innovation, focusing on telemedicine, teleconsultation, and telemonitoring, which will reduce hospitalizations and bring medical care directly to patients’ homes. The scientific and healthcare research tower will serve as a hub dedicated to innovation, with facilities for the production of cells, tissues, organoids, pharmaceuticals, and digital prosthetics. A unit dedicated to the integration of artificial intelligence in medicine and surgical planning will also be included, utilizing 3D printing and personalized anatomical models.
A state-of-the-art diagnostic center is planned, which will feature magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans enhanced by artificial intelligence, in addition to specialized areas in genetics, HLA, cytometry, molecular medicine, and cell manipulation. A transnational research center and a program for early-phase clinical trials will also be developed, focusing on the preservation of stem cells and other tissues.
The Hospital of the Future: Green and Sustainable
The hospital implements sustainability strategies through the installation of solar panels for energy self-sufficiency, the use of sustainable, recycled, and certified materials to reduce environmental impact, and the inclusion of green spaces such as gardens and rooftops to mitigate the urban heat island effect and improve the microclimate.
A Beacon of Pediatric Hope 2028
Construction of the New Santobono Pediatric Hospital will begin in the fall of 2025, with work progressing in three shifts. The hospital is expected to be fully operational within two and a half years, becoming a cutting-edge pediatric care center in Italy and internationally.
The project not only represents a breakthrough in pediatric healthcare but also serves as a model of sustainability, accessibility, and technological innovation, designed to improve the quality of life for children and their families, as well as contribute to the urban and social development of Naples, ultimately becoming a European reference center.