Medical centre Leverkusen

The medical centre of Leverkusen is known as 'the Health Park'. The hospital equipment lies in the middle of the park and the single storey buildings are connected with each other within the green spaces. 'Here not only the patients, but also visitors and employees benefit from the green space, and from this observation came the concept of bringing the park inside the hospital', explains Dorethee Pretending, leading Interior Designer of HDR GmbH, which specialises in construction for health, laboratories and education.  'So that visitors can feel the park in the hospital interior, we created a solution with many elements that appeal to the senses.  We took inspiration from trees, fields, places, flowers and meadows.  Colour worlds were set, and the natural lighting and depth effects were also taken into consideration.  The room sound was adjusted with the use of acoustically effective materials.  In addition, we used many natural textures to aid the overall feel of the products - this played a large role in appealing to the patients' and visitors' sense of touch', 

The biggest issue with designing for the health industry? Hygiene - Alll surfaces and objects here need to be able to withstand thorough cleaning and disinfectant without losing colour or being scratched. This is exactly why HPL material specialists Pfleiderer were chosen as a partner.  In this way, all the nursing stations for this project were made with 'Pfleiderer Duropal HPL SolidColor Crystal White'. Also the carcass material for patient cupboards and other white furniture elements were made with Pfleiderer material.  HPL works well in this sector as it is robust and scratch resistant, and also easily fulfills the B1 fire prevention requirements.

The project architects were particularly pleased that this project could be completed thanks to the numerous HPL decor and structure varieties on offer, enabling them to create such an unusual interpretation in the healthcare sector.  Having worked with Pfleiderer products for many years, they are still inspired by the easy to process and high quality of the materials.