Design concept and showroom for Gesundheit Nord

Client: Gesundheit Nord gGmbH

Location: Bremen

Completion: 2022

Photographs: Joachim Grothus

Project team: Susanne Brandherm, Andreas Jacob, Janina Jäkel

Natural wellbeing

With four hospitals, the Gesundheit Nord hospital association in Bremen is one of the largest municipal hospital groups in Germany. The demands were correspondingly high when we were commissioned with a design concept for the elective services area. The overarching goal: the development of a uniform material and design vocabulary for several hospitals and wards. The focus was on rooms such as patient rooms with bathrooms, lounges, corridors and support points. Based on the concept we developed, we were able to implement our ideas in a sample room for the Klinikum Bremen-Mitte.

People recover more quickly when they feel comfortable in their spatial environment. The guiding idea for our design concept was therefore to create a hospitable and inviting atmosphere. Patients should feel welcome and at ease in the hospital. Warm, muted colours and materials with a natural look and pleasant feel are the basis to achieve this. The basic colour mood is unobtrusive and welcoming. In order to facilitate orientation, our concept recommends clear zoning of the public areas. This clarity is supported by punctual lighting, which simultaneously ensures visual variety. A stylish pictorial language for the layout of routes and artistically designed walls add sensual highlights. The sample room at the Klinikum Bremen-Mitte, designed on the basis of our concept, demonstrates that a hospital can also be a homely place. Muted shades of green and grey as well as many wooden surfaces convey an environment that is as relaxed as it is natural. The clean ambience is softened with colourful accessories such as pendant lights and coat hooks. The sample bathroom with its muted green shades and natural wooden elements also conveys a cosy atmosphere and thus contrasts with the usual functionality of such wet rooms. The lighting allows for individual lighting scenarios in the bathroom and in the main room. Plenty of storage space and various seating options for patients and visitors round off the health-promoting design concept.