Vienna Nord
Location Vienna, Austria | Client Wiener Krankenhausanstalten Verbund | Architect Atelier Albert Wimmer | Associate Landscape Architect 3:0 Landschaftsarchitektur | Photographer Rudolph Steiner | Size 129,000 square meters | Awards Design and Health International Academy Award 2017 (International Healthcare Project, Salutogenic Design Project and Sustainable Urban and Built Environment categories) | Status Completed 2018 | Tags Parks and Civic Spaces, Public Realm and Infrastructure, Corporate and Commercial
MSP created interior and exterior landscapes for the public Vienna North hospital which help patients to heal.
The landscape masterplan covers three main areas: a restorative park, a public urban plaza, and a vehicular drop off and emergency service area.
In the public plaza, the parallel linear paving pattern connects the main entry sub-plaza, outdoor cafes, the area in front of the train station, and the hotel and conference center spill-out spaces. The pattern changes in front of the hospital’s main entrance, to help direct pedestrians.
The park design blends the interior and exterior of the hospital, flowing from inside the hospital building into series of therapeutic gardens, lawns, meadows, and water bodies. The outdoor park also incorporates fitness areas for staff and patients, as well as a children’s play area.
Water connects these elements: serene sunken interior gardens connect with a series of wetland pools, which provide a habitat for numerous invertebrates, and form an essential part of the site’s storm water management system. Beside the wetlands, aromatic herb gardens and activity areas offer opportunities for relaxation or stimulation. Relaxing walks wind through the gardens, encouraging patients to journey back to health.
Between the gardens, wide strips of wildflower meadows alternate with neatly trimmed lawns. Four glasshouse in the middle of these strips are citrus-filled winter gardens. Like the water, these winter gardens link the hospital interior and garden exterior, mirroring the central atria within the hospital building.
