Warm Welcome
The entrance hall and canopy consist of large wooden beams and a glass roof. They give the hospital a bright, spacious, and open appearance and provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere. In the hall, alongside space for commercial functions, an inviting staircase has been designed, creating a clear connection to the nursing units on the first floor. The use of a subdued, warm gray/white color and material palette including larch wood, slate, thermally galvanized steel, aluminum, and glass ensures alignment with the existing building while giving it a contemporary look. The hall is situated visibly within an existing courtyard, redefining the connection with the other courtyards.
To minimize disruption during the construction work and to keep the existing main entrance and its associated functions operational, the decision was made to transport most of the equipment over the hospital by using the courtyard. This included lifting the wooden beams for the glass canopy of the hall, which measured 19 meters in length and 1.5 meters in height, one by one into place. In the courtyard, they were attached to existing concrete columns to create the desired column-free hall. This attachment was made structurally feasible by equipping the columns with a 1 cm thick bent steel casing. The beams of the canopy are each 24 meters long and 1 meter high. They rest on one side of the hospital and are suspended on the other side by three tapered steel pylons.
User Well-being
In the basement below the hall, the installations control the indoor climate. The new slate floor in the hall is equipped with underfloor heating and cooling. Linear grilles in the floor edge provide the supply of fresh air, and the extraction is regulated in the edge of the adjacent corridor ceiling. For the well-being of the user, the glass roof is fitted with windows that can be opened; these are not essential for climate control.
