Description

The patient rooms of the new wing, with their modern furnishings, indented glazed balconies and adjoining light-filled seating areas, evoke a sense of comfort more commonly associated with hotel rooms. The flush surfaces in the rooms and corridors, the choice of materials and the transparent sculptural quality of the facade make the new west wing one of the most elegant and aesthetically attractive hospital wings to have been built in recent years.

Neumünster Hospital, built between 1931 and 1933 by the Zurich architects Otto and Werner Pfister, lies on the Zollikerberg in Zollikon near Zurich and includes a hospital, nurses’ accommodation, staff and training rooms and a chapel. All the hospital wings have a double-loaded arrangement with a clear functional division: the patient rooms and main rooms are oriented towards the park while the ancillary spaces are located on the north side. While some wings were to be upgraded, the original west wing was deemed no longer able to meet modern hospital requirements and was replaced with a new building on the same site.

The four-storey replacement wing faces the park and houses three wards and a floor of treatment rooms including a therapy pool. The wards retain the original south-facing orientation of the patient rooms with ancillary nursing rooms to the north. The patient rooms are spacious and have a balcony and view of the park. Open lounge areas break down the length of the ward corridor and allow daylight to suffuse the circulation zones.

The floor plan of the two-bed rooms creates a progression from the entrance area to the patient zone to a sitting area and outdoor space. By arranging the beds at right angles to one other, both patients have a direct view outside. The two bed positions are of equal status, but not identical, and are far enough apart to have their own space with movable curtains for additional visual privacy when needed.

The seating area is designed as a bay with glazing on two sides that looks onto the park and the adjoining balcony-veranda, which provides a sheltered outdoor space. Ample distance between the table and the beds, as well as between the two beds, affords greater privacy as well as space for visitors, and a glazed strip that runs from floor to ceiling allows natural light to permeate into the inboard patient bathroom.

The open views, natural surroundings and the bright, daylit interiors contribute, along with the fittings and furnishings, to the pleasant atmosphere of the rooms. Dark parquet flooring, curtains of varying translucency, upholstered chairs and indirect lighting create a sense of comfort that is further heightened by the coordinated colour scheme and high-quality bed linen.

The materials used in the new building, as well as in the renovated wings, establish a coherent overall impression that harmonises with the original materials of the existing building. High-quality materials in the rooms and ward corridors lend the new wing a sense of sophistication and warmth that reflects the elegant character of the entire hospital complex and its park.

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Originally published in: Wolfgang Sunder, Julia Moellmann, Oliver Zeise, Lukas Adrian Jurk, The Patient Room, Birkhäuser, 2020.