UPMARKET DESIGN IN A BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT - A new design concept was used in the refurbishment of the private ward of Hochgebirgsklinik Davos to ensure that the clinic will continue to meet the upscale requirements of its patients and promote their recovery.
Hochgebirgsklinik (HGK) Davos is an internationally renowned clinic specialising in the treatment of allergies, lung and respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and dermatological diseases.
Having started off as a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1901, Hochgebirgsklinik Davos now attracts patients from all over the world who frequently return for further treatment of their chronic diseases. Having recognised that a pleasant environment supports the recovery process of returning and post-surgery patients, HGK commissioned the OOS team of architects from Zurich to refurbish and convert the clinic’s private ward.
To ensure that the Davos site is fit for the future, the management opted for comprehensive refurbishment of the current infrastructure, including rooms, rehabilitation area and catering area, bringing them up to the latest technological and visual standard.
The ‘First Class Reha-Hospitality’ conversion concept was developed by a team of OOS planners, doctors, nurses and the clinic’s facility management. Thanks to close cooperation and a cleverly designed concept, the entire conversion project was planned and implemented in a mere eight months. “It was interdisciplinary collaboration that made the speedy implementation of this highly complex conversion possible during ongoing operations. Emissions were kept low, and rigorous planning helped us achieve a very high level of accuracy in the project’s implementation,” says Dr Georg Schäppi, Director of Hochgebirgsklinik (HGK) Davos.
The design concept comprised 33 single rooms, four suites, the corridor, the common room and the ground-floor catering area. Aiming to create a hotel-inspired atmosphere conducive to the recovery process, the planners focussed on natural materials and Swiss quality products. Aside from fitted furniture made from smoked oak, they installed wood and leather furniture and chose Bauwerk Parquet’s Villapark Oak 35 in CREMA for the floors. All materials had to be suitable for cleaning with highly concentrated disinfectants to meet the high hospital hygiene standards. Sealed with the B-Protect® surface, the Villapark floor is particularly well suited to meet these requirements. The sealing is almost invisible to the naked eye, allowing the parquet to retain its natural appearance. Thanks to the closed wood pores resulting from B-Protect® treatment, the surface is protected against dirt and bacteria and the parquet floor can be treated with intensive cleaning agents. Although the parquet’s straight joints represent a minor weak point, the design aspects were more important in the implementation of the new concept for the HGK private ward.
Third floor of the Hochgebirgsklinik Davos (HGK). In the Y-shaped building, the suites are located in the lower area with a central corridor. The rooms are laid out next to each other on the upper sections branching out. The treatment rooms are on the opposite side of the hall.
The single rooms are designed as twin rooms and each is mirrored along the middle axis with a facing room. The furnishings are in keeping with the high-quality simplicity of the " First Class Rehab-Hospitality" concept. The whites, greys and browns are colour-co-ordinated. The suites are larger and offer enough space for two – including a spacious lounge area.
The technical planning also depended on close cooperation among the team. Aside from the special focus on hygiene, particular consideration also had to be given to the use of the rooms as well as the day-to-day operations. The fact that the conversion had to be implemented during ongoing operations represented a further challenge. Aiming to keep the construction period to a minimum, the team prepared a model room which helped clarify key questions regarding the construction process and the implementation of the ward’s planned rehabilitation and hospitality uses. There are further plans to refurbish other areas within the HGK complex. On top of this, 2018 will see the start of the construction of a new campus building including lab and office facilities for SIAF (Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research) and training rooms for CK-CARE, an international allergy research and training association in Davos. Again, OOS architects will work in a team with representatives of SIAF, CK-CARE and HGK to implement a new concept for the education campus, research laboratory and offices.
