Göttingen University Hospital (over 1400 beds) was built in 1977. The idea of now re-furbishing the central operating department – which did not have any windows – was abandoned in favour of a new building.

The competition envisaged a reduction from 28 to 16 theatres to be gained by improving the equipment, and the sequencing of the work steps.

LUDES’ draft, which was awarded the 1st prize, ensures a high degree of process efficiency and quality of treatment in the new surgical centre by means of the consistent orientation of the spatial

structures to the workflow, with compact, short pathways.

The creative interplay of light, glass, transparency and colour, which also takes into consideration the modern control of daylight, makes the shell of the building into an impressive aesthetic feature of the new centre and represents, as high-tech architecture for high-tech medicine, a symbol for the competence the forward-looking policy of the hospital. The roof surfaces are considered to be a fifth façade, ensuring the penetration of daylight deep into the building’s interior.