Description

The original ward with polygonal, diagonally arranged rooms at Seeheim-Jugenheim district hospital near Darmstadt is still one of the most interesting and most well-known ward layouts in Germany. Its sustainable design qualities reveal themselves in the ability to accommodate changes and new design concepts. As such, the ward renovation was able to retain its original structure.

The wards at Jugenheim district hospital were originally designed by the architects Junghans+Formhals in the 1990s. The wards were modernised as part of the long-term, comprehensive redevelopment of the hospital as a regional centre for orthopaedics. The conversion had to be undertaken without interrupting ongoing operation of the hospital and no changes were made to the façade or the loadbearing structure.

As a result, the renovation of the wards with a total of 80 beds as well as the diagnostics and treatment facilities were carried out floor by floor and interventions to the existing room structure were kept to a minimum. The original room layout with its diagonal floor plan that allow the beds to be arranged opposite each other was retained.

The interior conversion was particular challenging due to the angled and cramped geometry of the three-storey building and the additional technical equipment required in the upgraded wards. All surfaces were renewed and coordinated to create a harmonious interior: flooring in a warm strip wood decor, walls smooth plastered in white, and the ceilings in perforated acoustic plasterboard with integral lighting.

The fittings in the existing patient rooms were redesigned for better comfort: sections of the wall surface were clad in wood-effect panelling into which the medical connections, lighting, patient cupboards and mirrors were integrated. To provide additional seating for visitors, the radiators were fronted by benches made of a similar material. Fitted cupboards were incorporated into the two-bed room, which also have a dining table and chairs, a desk, fridge and bedside units with TV. From an armchair near the window, patients can see the hills of the Bergstrasse region. In the single-bed rooms, a larger desk and armchair with side table takes the place of the second bed.

To soften the restless angularity of the corridors in the new orthopaedic ward, LSK Architekten proposed introducing calm, rounded forms in the core zone. The counter of the nurses’ station curves around at the heart of the ward and looks onto a round atrium planted with tall bamboo to create a “green atrium”.

Benches have been also been set into the corridors, the walls of which have been decorated throughout with works of art by Professor Joan Sofron. A central patient lounge with kitchen provides a space to meet and talk for patients and visitors.

---

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