Centerpiece of a Health Park
Zentralklinikum Hochrhein
A hospital concept that sets new standards for the health sector while minimizing its ecological footprint: The pooling of expertise in health sector buildings has created an exemplary clinic that consciously focuses on the needs of both patients and staff.
By 2029, Albbruck is to become home to an exemplary clinic with around 360 beds – which will be the centerpiece of the health park of the same name that is being realized simultaneously as a separate project. VAMED Germany, with us and Baumschlager Eberle Architekten as its design partners, has been commissioned by the District of Waldshut with the general planning of the new Zentralklinikum Hochrhein.
“Healing environment”
The project focuses on human-centered and healing-promoting design. The aim is that the hospital should be a place with its own identity where both staff and patients feel at home. The urban concept makes a major contribution to this: Located in the Black Forest on the banks of the Rhine and surrounded by fields and wooded hills, the new building consists of three higher and three lower volumes. The staggering of these volumes not only creates the impression of a small town that is harmoniously integrated into the health park but also improves privacy and opens up more views into the landscape.
The new clinic focuses on patients and guarantees top-level sustainable healthcare thanks to its well-thought-out functionality, environmentally-friendly materiality, and energy-efficient building services– a milestone in healthcare provision in the region.
Tobias Schwarz
Architect, Managing Director in Nuremberg
Despite their air of independence, the functional connection between the six objects is perfect. The examination and treatment areas are located on the lower levels, while the care areas are on the upper floors. An adjacent garden by the main entrance offers all building users room for recreation.
Climate-friendly and forward-looking buildings
The building concept meets all the latest climate and sustainability objectives: The highly-efficient and optimally insulated building envelope minimizes heat loss in winter and, thanks to its measured use of areas of glazing, effective shading measures, and green roofs, counters overheating in summer within the building and avoids the creation of damaging heat islands. The energy required for major equipment, sterilization processes, hot and cold water, the kitchens, heating, and cooling is provided in situ in an environmentally friendly manner by photovoltaic modules and a heat pump.
Both annual primary energy demand and CO2 emissions are well below the legal limit, as a result of which the new building represents an important milestone on the road to climate neutrality. The expandability of the complex underlines the basic idea of a forward-looking hospital: The project is laid out in such a way that it can grow as needed through the use of the same system.
