Domenig/Eisenköck/Gruber

Graz, Austria

People/Products

Josef Hoffmann’s Pruckersdorf Sanatorium of 1904 was a functional and aesthetic masterpiece that might have set a precedent for hospitals in Austria—but didn’t. Throughout the 20th century, Austrian hospitals fared perfectly well without architects’ architects. Today, the country not only has the most hospitals per capita in the European Union, it also boasts the highest international ratings, along with France, in health-care quality. Recently, however, the climate for public hospital construction has shifted. State facilities are now competing for patients who have opted for new, private supplementary insurance, and simultaneously, the national hospital service hired a slew of project managers tasked with keeping construction strictly on budget. The grand new public building at Provincial Hospital Graz-West, designed by Domenig/Eisenköck/ Gruber, should convince both patients and administrators that the public system in Austria is entirely capable of delivering top-notch hospitals cost-effectively.

As part of an effort to provide smaller, decentralized health-care facilities throughout the region, the program called for outsourcing short-stay, basic-care services—such as emergency surgery, physiotherapy, radiology, internal medicine, same-day surgery, and lung disease treatment—away from the larger University Hospital in Graz, located in the eastern part of the city. The new building’s site in Graz’s western outskirts consists of wheat and corn fields, with a few rustic buildings in the distance and hills as a backdrop, all set against a vista of open skies.

The three-story, 260-bed hospital smacks of luxury. Approaching it, a visitor can’t help thinking it’s not a hospital, but rather a home-furnishings shopper’s paradise, recalling Ben Thompson’s famed Design Research Building in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nighttime heightens this impression, thanks to the brilliant (literally and figuratively) use of artificial lighting, both inside and out. The facades of buffed, meshed, and ribbed stainless steel, as well as concrete structural elements and finishing, are impeccably crafted and detailed, giving an impression of state-of-the-art technology within.


People

Owner
Steiermärkische Krankenanstalten Gesellschaft mbH
A-8010 Graz, Stiftingtalstraße 4-6

Architect
Architects' working community
Univ.Prof.Arch.DI Günther Domenig
Arch.DI Hermann Eisenköck
Arch.DI Rupert Gruber
A-8010 Graz, Körblergasse 100
Tel. +43 316 32 20 20
Fax. +43 316 32 20 20 - 20

Project manager:
Arch.DI Johannes Dullnigg

Interior designer
Architects' working community
Univ.Prof.Arch.DI Günther Domenig
Arch.DI Hermann Eisenköck
Arch.DI Rupert Gruber
Graz

Engineer(s)
Fritsch, Chiari&Partner ZT GmbH, Vienna

Electrical engineering:
DI Helmut Mayer, Feldbach

Consultant(s)
Landscape:
Office Land in Sicht
DI Thomas Proksch, Vienna

Acoustical:
Architects' working community
Univ.Prof.Arch.DI Günther Domenig
Arch.DI Hermann Eisenköck
Arch.DI Rupert Gruber
Graz

DI Franz Kalwoda, Vienna

Building services:
DI Erwin Wagner, Graz

Medical installations:
DI Karl Zach, Graz

Fire protection:
Mag.Arch.Ing. Gerhard Düh, Vienna

Business organisation planning:
MZG, DI Franz Koller, Graz

General contractor
General planner planning phase:
Moser Architekten ZT GmbH, Vienna

General planner realisation phase, construction supervision on site and
construction co-ordination:

Architects' working community
Univ.Prof.Arch.DI Günther Domenig
Arch.DI Hermann Eisenköck
Arch.DI Rupert Gruber
Graz

Photographer(s)
Paul Ott
A-8020 Graz
Kernstockgasse 22/24/III
Tel. +43 316 89 05 31
office@paul-ott.at

Günther Linshalm
A-1150 Wien
Kröllgasse 27/12
Tel. +43 222 923 83 74
linshalm@netway.at

CAD system, project management, or other software used
Autocad www.autodesk.com, ABIS Software www.abis-software.com

 

 

Products

Structural system
Steiner Bau www.steiner-bau.com, St. Paul, Austria

Exterior cladding
Metal/glass curtainwall:
Morocutti Stahlbau KG, Graz, Austria
Metallbau Heidenbauer, Bruck/Mur, Austria www.heidenbauer.com

Concrete:
Alu-Cobond www.alucobond.com
Ing. Andreas Sauritschnig GmbH, St. Veit/Glan, Austria

Roofing
Elastomeric:
Bauder www.bauder.de
Walter Ploberger Isolierungen GmbH, www.walter-ploberger.at Graz, Austria

Metal:
Kalzip www.kalzip.com
Ing. Klaus Gruber GmbH, St. Stefan, Austria

Windows
Aluminum:
Schüco International, Vienna, Austria www.schueco.com

Glazing
Glass:
Eckelt Glas GmbH www.eckelt.at, Steyr, Austria

Insulated-panel or plastic glazing:
Eckelt Glas GmbH, Steyr, Austria www.eckelt.at

Doors
Entrances:
Schüco International www.schueco.com, Vienna, Austria

Sliding doors:
Dorma, GEZE www.geze.de

Fire-control doors, security grilles:
TorTec Brandschutztor GmbH,
Wolfsegg, Austria www.tortec.at

Special doors:
Harald Kiefer Metallbau GmbH, Bad Gleichenberg, Austria

Hardware
Locksets:
KABA GEGE Schließtechnik, Herzogenburg, Austria www.kabagege.at

Hinges:
Vieler www.vieler.net
Dorma www.dorma.com

Pulls:
Vieler www.vieler.net
Vola www.vola.dk, D-Line www.dline.com, Leibnitz, Austria

Interior finishes
Acoustical ceilings:
Lindner GmbH, Baden, Austria

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork:
Stoisser Objektmöbelproduktion GmbH, Leibnitz, Austria

Paints and stains:
Synthesa www.synthesa.at
Eduard Kovatschitz, Graz, Austria

Plastic laminate:
Abet Laminati www.abetlaminati.com

Floor and wall tile:
Villeroy&Boch (Bathrooms) www.villeroy-boch.com C.E.S.I.

Furnishings
Office furniture:
– Bene Büromöbel KG, Graz, Austria www.bene.com
– Hali Büromöbel GmbH, Graz, Austria www.hali.at
– Proform Vertriebs GmbH, Salzburg, Austria www.proform.at

Reception furniture:
custom made

Chairs:
Pegasan Handels GmbH Nfg. KEG, Vienna, Austria

Tables:
– Bene Büromöbel KG, Graz, Austria www.bene.com
– Hali Büromöbel GmbH, Graz, Austria www.hali.at
– Proform Vertriebs GmbH, Salzburg, Austria www.proform.at

Upholstery:
Proform Vertriebs GmbH, Salzburg, Austria www.proform.at

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting:
Kreon www.kreon.com

Downlights:
Zumtobel www.zumtobelstaff.com

Task lighting:
Zumtobel www.zumtobelstaff.com

Exterior:
Kreon www.kreon.com

Conveyance
Elevators/Escalators:
Kogler GmbH, Pinkafeld, Austria

Accessibility provision:
Reinigungsbühne: Prangl Gesmbh, Gratkorn, Austria

Plumbing
Geberit www.geberit.de
DI Anton Hofstätter GmbH, Graz, Austria