Lichtenfels in Bavaria has raised the bar, setting new standards in sustainable hospital buildings. We are the key consultants and project managed this groundbreaking endeavor.
With support from the Stately Innovation Program "Bayern departure", a new energy saving hospital will be built opposite the existing building.
The Helmut G. Walter Lichtenfels Hospital will be one of the first Green Hospitals in Germany. The specially developed sustainable ecological concept combines the highest of standards with an improvement in the quality of patient experience, while accounting for economic aspects.
Together with our clients, representatives of the Bavarian Ministry for Environment and Health, the architect of Schuster Pechthold Schmidt and other design professionals, WSP Germany’s specialists identified all energy saving potential for construction and operation.
The result is a holistic and comprehensive action plan, which is at the cutting edge of research and technology.
The project involves an innovative energy concept that includes alternative resources such as geothermal and photovoltaic minimising the energy consumption. The goal is to reach as close to the ‘passive house building standard’ as is possible.
So-called ‘phase-change’ materials are to take over the building temperature. These materials are used in paraffin pellets concealed in walls. They store energy and act through different states of matter thermally active or passive, to create a more comfortable indoor climate in the result. When it comes to the lighting we concentrated on a maximum use of daylight. Via light-guiding prism natural light for the patient areas will be made available. Where daylight cannot be used, energy-saving LED lamps are used, which are controlled by sensors. Especially important in highly frequented areas this is an effective means of saving energy.
The sustainable solutions at Lichtenfels are fully integrated; engaging each other in a logical way, ensuring the minimisation of resource consumption and emissions is hugely reduced in comparison to conventional hospitals.