For hospital staff, balancing family and career demands feels impossible without proper support. Reliable childcare that adapts to shift schedules is essential – and Stuttgart Hospital delivers. Its on-site full-day facility serves 60 children aged 0 to 6, making it easier for staff to manage work and family life while boosting the hospital's appeal as an employer. Future plans also include new staff housing. Coast Office Architects designed this angular structure to sit gracefully into the hillside, its extensive green roof extending the wooded landscape beyond. The building harnesses geothermal energy for heating and cooling, while an integrated photovoltaic system pushes it to plus-energy standard – generating more power than it consumes. Wrapped in a playful wooden façade that signals the vibrant world within, this single-storey, fully accessible building hums with activity from 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Yet despite the energy and colour, the interior spaces follow a clear, well-structured logic. Functional areas sit toward the slope, while group rooms face the expansive 500 m² outdoor play area. Beyond the mudroom's clean-off zone lie themed exploration rooms – spaces for discovery, sensory development, construction, and imaginative play. A central dining hall and multipurpose room serve the whole community, with sleeping areas assigned to each group at either end of the 900 m² building. A playful corridor unifies it all, threading through the building with intentional narrowings and openings that invite encounters, movement, and discovery. Along the way: a parents' café and learning islands equipped with tablets and information displays for educational engagement. Bold colours anchor the experience – from geometric purple pathways leading to cloakrooms to vibrant polygonal shapes that dance across floors, walls, and ceilings in luminous yellows, pinks, oranges, blues, reds, and greens. These colour islands shift with perspective and pace, creating unique impressions while enhancing spatial orientation and marking group room entrances. Inside, accent colours in carpets, textiles, and play elements echo the dominant palette – a dynamic visual language that extends to the wooden façade itself.

www.coastoffice.de

Photography Credits:

David Franck
www.davidfranck.de

(Published in CUBE Stuttgart 01|22)