New Hospital, The

The hospital of the future views itself as being a modern service provider: the patient is a customer who is wooed with a medical and care-focused service. The central aspect of this new thinking in the field pf health care provision is the quality of life and the well-being of patients, staff and visitors. Architecture and design are becoming integral components of the approach to treatment and recovery. Special uses of light and colour, sustainability in the choice of materials and the flexibility of rooms: all form innovative concepts in contemporary hospital architecture - whether brand new buildings, conversion, or extension projects. The New Hospital focuses its attention on more than one hundred high quality buildings in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Using texts, photos, design sketches and ground plans, the collection illustrates the shape of pioneering trends in contemporary hospital building. Design highlights include the Agatharied Hospital by Nickl & Partner, the Hartberg State Hospital by Klaus Kada, and the REHAB, Basle, by Herbzog & de Meuron.