Merciful Brothers

Linz

Status
implemented

Period
2021-2022

Client
convent hospital
Merciful Brothers Linz
Seilerstätte 2
4021 Linz

Landscape architecture & Engineering
Green4Cities GmbH

Microclimatic consulting & simulation GREENPASS GmbH
e7 energy innovation & engineering GmbH

Team G4C
Bernhard König, Lisa Enzenhofer,
Michela Thaler

Photos
© Kurt Hoerbst

Convent hospital Merciful Brothers

The Convent Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy Linz is a centrally located inner-city hospital and health center.

Due to the summer overheating in the densely built-up urban area, shading and greenery were provided to cool the surfaces in order to noticeably increase the quality of stay for patients and staff in the interior and exterior spaces.

As part of a preliminary study, the initial climatic situation and the “hotspots” were examined using green pass simulations and dynamic building simulations in collaboration with e7 Ingenieure, and designs for microclimatic improvements were developed on this basis. This enabled the peak temperatures in the inner courtyard to be reduced by 6°C. The first three terraces have now been redesigned and completed in 2021/22. Further terraces and façade areas have been defined for redesign and replanning, which will be implemented in phases over the coming years.

Static limitations, functional dependencies and construction site coordination during ongoing hospital operations require a modular design and a high degree of pre-planning and coordination during implementation.

Central seating furniture in the courtyard ©KURT HOERBST 2022

Courtyard

The inner courtyard on the ground floor forms a new green entrance for the central arrival area in the hospital. A seating and platform sculpture made of ash wood with circular plant troughs from which multi-stemmed shrubs with dense underplanting grow dominate the terraces. The largest possible volume of vegetation was developed within the framework of the static load restrictions. The trees and shrubs were selected with reduced heights to suit the location. Sambucus Nigra, Crataegus laevigata, Robinia ‘Casque Rouge’, Acer Ginnala, Lonicera Purpursii, Amelanchier lamarckii and Corylus avellana were used here. Sunny areas were planted with heat-resistant and perennial mixtures of grasses and perennials, such as bird’s-foot sedge, downy elfin flower, soft lady’s mantle, Caucasian forget-me-not and sweet umbels.

In the southern courtyard area, the existing beds were renovated and replanted with a forest-like underplanting with a resilient mixture of Dryopteries filis-mas, Gilenie trifoliata, Aquilegia vulgaris, Hosta Plantaginea, Galium odoratum and Clematis. A finely tuned flowering calendar provides colorful accents all year round.

© KURT HOERBST 2022

Terrace Level 3

On the sunny terrace on the 3rd floor, the existing terrace structure was extensively removed to create ten circular flower beds, seating niches, retreats and places to relax. A biodiverse, sunny landscape of grasses and flowering shrubs attracts birds and insects. The terrace is directly accessible from the patient rooms and is not only used for “walks” but also for snacking on strawberries and picking herbs.

Acer ginnala, Acer monspessulanum, Amelanchier lamarckii, Prunus dulcis, Quercus pubescens and Prunus laurocerasus are used as woody plants, while yellow coneflower, Atlas fescue, garden scabiosa, bellflower, buttercup leaf, thyme, silver rough grass, columbine, cranesbill, daylilies, red viper’s bugloss and mountain aster are planted underneath.

© KURT HOERBST 2022