Schulthess Clinic, expansion

Campus Lengg in Zurich is to be home to one of the largest health clusters in Switzerland. Numerous institutions from the fields of healthcare and research, including Zurich University, ETH Zurich, Balgrist University Clinic, Psychiatric University Clinic, Hirslanden Clinic and Schulthess Clinic. The latter is one of the leading orthopaedic clinics in Europe and focuses on surgical orthopaedics, neurology, rheumatology and sports medicine. Thanks to the steadily increasing number of patients and the bottlenecks as a result, the board of trustees approved the comprehensive expansion and conversion project. The original hospital complex consists of two buildings. The extension consists of various sub-projects intended to enrich the available space. The entrance hall was extended on both sides and reinforced as the centre of the complex. A new ward was built at the head of this building. Further subprojects were an auditorium with schooling rooms and a corridor laboratory as well as a car park underneath the gardens. The treatment wing and catering area were also extended.

Since all construction work was carried out during the course of the clinic's operation, detailed planning and intensive communication between those responsible at the clinic and the construction team was crucial. HRS engaged around 100 contractors to carry out the project, from the wards to the restaurant. The ongoing operation during the entire construction period required provisional arrangements, as well as permanent adjustments to accesses and routes. Entire temporary path networks in the form of corridors and protective past the construction sites. Despite the complete reconstruction of the entrance to the underground car park, the clinic had permanent access and parking facilities. Due to massive interventions in operational processes, such as the installation of an elevator in the wards building, the implementation of the extension turned out to be technically demanding and highly complex. This required far-sighted, coordinated and multi-layered planning.