.... simply follow the balloons....
The paediatric outpatient clinic at the LKH Leoben had initially been planned as part of the "normal" outpatient clinic in the course of the new planning of radiology and surgery; however, planning and execution were brought forward in the schedule of KAGes, and the temporal "detachment" from the original plan turned out to be a stroke of luck: the new paediatric outpatient clinic was also mentally and finally spatially detached from the originally conceived context, and the new positioning brings with it several advantages.
In contrast to the rather dark inner courtyard at the south entrance, the exposed location of the new building, which will be completed in May 2021, in the east of the overall LKH complex offers easier accessibility, excellent lighting and view possibilities, and in addition, the forward-looking planning offers the possibility of an extension to a "children's house", in which the now still missing outpatient clinic for child psychiatry and physio and occupational therapy rooms will find space - the noble shell is already partly ready. As Prim. Univ. Prof. Dr DrKerbl, the head of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, emphasises: "I am pragmatic, architecture is good when it combines with function." So neither does form follow function, nor is architecture an end in itself - the main thing is to heal children, and that succeeds better in an anxiety-free environment that is organised smoothly "in the background".
The paediatric outpatient clinic is docked a few steps behind the east entrance at the kiosk room of the cafeteria to the "Magistrale", the connecting corridor that links the various new and old buildings of the LKH as a consistent east-west axis. This not only ideally integrates the ward itself into the overall structure of the LKH: Above all, sick children, who are in any case confused by unfamiliar surroundings, the unusual atmosphere, strange sounds and smells, do not have to cover long distances in the hospital.
The children's outpatient department has the most sensitive guidance system imaginable for a facility of this kind: already in the main hall, ceiling lights designed as colourful balloons in all basic colours mark the entrance to the ward; it actually seems like an invitation to follow them. The balloons run through the entire corridor and waiting area, and the colourful lights on the ceiling and their diffuse reflections on the floor quickly make you forget any fears of thresholds.
Guided by the coloured dots on the ceiling, you walk over a "connecting bridge" past the access wing with lift and stairs, various smaller functional rooms and a "quick registration terminal" until you reach the control centre and waiting room, around which the eight examination rooms are arranged. A combination of wood and glass creates a friendly "patient reception" here, from which one always has a good view of the waiting room and also the entrances to the treatment rooms. Special wooden furniture at the counter provides privacy, and a large trough with plants invites nature into the interior.
The waiting room has a smaller, separate lounge area with a game console for youngsters who want to distance themselves a little from the "playing toddlers".
Even though this control centre and waiting room are (unfortunately!) "wellutilised", especially in the winter season, there is still a relaxed atmosphere: the acoustics were not only thought through by the planning team with special materials that reduce the reverberation time, a sophisticated, low-threshold sound system is also used to create a calming background noise (or rather - chirping?). The fact that good architecture does not stop with the eyes, but appeals to all the senses, is also noticeable in the haptic wooden elements that function as a kind of wardrobe play elements.
Analogous to the colourful balloons that break up the sterile "hygienic" white, Ernst Giselbrecht's team of architects came up with another special feature to brighten up the hospital atmosphere: Various small friendly monsters cavort on glass walls, doors and curtains, looking like caricatures of the frightening equipment, thus almost making them disappear through playful doubling. Far from the kitsch of pasted-on Disney characters, each of these drawings is a small loving work of art, perfectly fitted into the surroundings.
And in the last examination room, countless fluffy bats hover around an ultrasound machine - the enthusiasm of the impressed children is reflected in countless drawings of little patients who may one day no longer "have to go to hospital" at all, but go to visit the bats and their favourite monster.
Team:
Architect: Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner architektur zt gmbh
Structual: Integral ZT GmbH
Mechanical services: TB Ing. Starchel
Electrical: PI-Planungs GmbH
Medical: Vamed GmbH & Co KG
Building physics: Rosenfelder & Höfler Consulting
Green Planing: Büro ko a la
Photography: Markus Kaiser
Material Used:
1. Facade cladding: Folding Elements, Aluminium
2. Interior furniture: Vitra - Elephant; Frost - Camouflage, Sellex - Aero; Cor - Trio; Extremis - Sticks
