A high-rise block designed to serve a variety of social, teaching and administrative uses – including a school for the health and care professions, staff living quarters and Klinikverbund Südwest’s central admin offices – complete with car park was to be built as part of the planned new Flugfeld Hospital.

The new 13-storey tower makes a striking statement at the entrance to the new campus, its load-bearing framework a simple reinforced concrete shell. Large window openings give the building an upmarket feel and combine with the internal core to bring natural light to the common areas on all floors. Multi-storey spaces positioned at strategic locations within the building provide meeting points conceived to promote encounter and exchange.

Architecturally paired car park building

Together, the tower and car park form a whole that is harmonious in both design and architecture. The car park, its upper storeys set back from the building line, mediates successfully with the adjacent corner development, while its 16 half floors connected by an access core provide just under 600 parking spaces.

The tower’s central access core and façade are both load-bearing. The punched-window façade and uniform grid pattern offer flexible use of the floor space and the potential for future remodelling at relatively low cost. Designed to complement the look of the district hospital, the light-coloured clinker-brick façade is divided horizontally by prefabricated concrete strips that run round the building. The use of punched-window elements extending over several floors creates a number of separate functional zones that are subtly discernible from the outside. The changing widths and rhythms of the window openings draw attention to the larger glazed units, just as the planting enhances the terrace area in front of the building.

Hard landscaping on the cradle-to-cradle principle

The exterior space features large concrete paving slabs, islands of green and ground-level water fountains as well as sustainable paving setts containing 40% recycled concrete. The pavement coverings can also be produced using recycled materials. The setts are easy to replace when worn or damaged and can be removed and recycled at the end of their useful life.