The Uri Cantonal Hospital will be expanded with a new building, and a new public park will be built. The entry area will be a new driveway that runs from Spitalstrasse to the hospital main entrance and underscores the importance of the address. There is a network of pathways winding through different areas of the park but also leading from the historic centre of town to the Allmend, the common. The design makes reference to the mountain panorama and the Alpine vegetation. Backdrop scenery is a central theme and is important for visual connections and views from the patient rooms to the exterior space. The vegetation builds layered horizons and, in this way, creates spatial depth. Bright areas (clearings) and dark areas immersed in partial shade (park backdrop) accompany park visitors as they walk through the gently shaped terrain. Plantings of colourful perennials mark the paths around the park.
Some old giant sequoias, boulders, and rhododendrons remain in place as remnants of the old hospital park. In addition to the two hospital courtyards, a roof garden expands the hospital park. The design concept of the park is continued here, and it carries the Alpine vegetation composition with Alpine roses and dwarf junipers on gentle rises of the terrain into the interior spaces.

Client
Canton of Uri, Baudirektion Uri, Amt für Hochbau

Project dates
Competition              2015, 1st Prize
Project planning        2016–2018
Execution                   2019–2025

Surface area
2.3 hectares

Architecture
Darlington Meier Architekten, Zürich