Description

For the patient rooms at the OPZ Surgical-Operative Centre in Erlangen, the architects experimented with different surface qualities: smooth and reflective in the entrance area and for impact protection, and glass wall surfaces in the bathroom, which are usually reserved for private healthcare patient rooms. Together with the use of wood decor and selected colours, they have created a tasteful and inviting overall interior that complements the design quality of the entire clinic building.

Founded in 1815, Erlangen University Hospital has a total capacity of 1394 beds and is a central healthcare facility of the city as well as a training institute for the medical faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Most of the buildings are located near the Schlossgarten in Erlangen. The new ward block building provides 328 beds and is the first construction phase for the new Operative Centre (OPZ) on the main site on the edge of the historical city centre. The building follows the course of the listed city wall and is divided into two sections by an entrance courtyard. Coarse render with natural stone inlay and striking window elements contrasts with delicate, delineated metal façades, expressing the tension between the historical surroundings and the requirements of a modern hospital.

Each floor of the building is divided into two wards with 34 beds, each arranged around a greened inner courtyard. Patients and visitors enter a ward, either from the respective main stairs and lift or from the adjacent medical building, arriving at a central point near the nurses’ station and patient waiting area.

Views into the inner courtyard or onto the street help provide orientation within the wards. The patient rooms are arranged along one side overlooking the street, and between the two wards a large balcony allows patients to step outdoors and look onto the entrance courtyard. Each ward has various types of patient rooms: two-bed and single rooms are supplemented by a four-bed supervision room, a disabled-access patient room and a room with airlock.

The headboards in the patient rooms are equipped with a high degree of technical fittings for treating patients after surgery, but they do not dominate the room. Ample wood, a seating area at the window with an overhead pendant lamp and the wall opposite free of equipment and installations creates a calm environment for the patients.

Cupboards for supplies and for patients’ belongings are located in the entrance area to the room next to the bathroom so that the area around the bed can be kept free for therapy and treatment. The same-handed layout of the rooms and the flush-fitted cupboards also eases handling of the beds in transport. The cupboards have mobile cupboard inserts for holding patient belongings so that they can be relocated along with the bed should a patient change rooms.

A washstand spanning the width of the bathroom along with generous shelf space and a large mirror helps impart the impression of spaciousness. The mirror height and washstand are designed to be usable by patients in wheelchairs.

Within the rooms, simple but high-quality materials have been used. The double-leaf entrance doors are articulated as room-high elements within solid oak frames, which are likewise used for the window surrounds. By contrast, the glossy white cabinet surfaces and joint-free glass walls in the bathroom combine easy-clean functionality with smooth modern aesthetics.

The patient rooms on the ground floor that face directly on the historic city wall are glazed from floor to ceiling and look onto their own semi-private green courtyard with a view of the city wall behind as a historical backdrop.

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