The Slingeland Hospital is located in the Netherlands near the border to Germany and meets the challenge of a trans- European healthcare system across cultural borders. It has 348 beds and employs approximately 1,600 staff, with almost all specialties being represented. The new hospital building succeeds in combining the highest possible medical technology with the lowest possible consumption of resources. The main factors of success are the architecture and sustainable building management. The architecture pays particular attention to the socio-economic factor of sustainability and therefore creates a building for employees and patients in the middle of nature.
In order to give architecture the greatest possible design freedom, the competition is held without a specified spatial programme. Under the title “Naturally Slingeland”, the design of Wiegerinck architects, LeFarWest landscape architects and Kopvol Architecture & Psychology wins. It programs a clear and transparent core hospital and creates a place where nature, health care and architecture reinforce each other. The striking shape of the building allows a maximum connection between the building and the surrounding landscape.