Herlev Hospital

Together with Henning Larsen, SLA has designed the new addition to Herlev Hospital. SLA has been responsible for the landscape design and the planting strategy.

In total, the landscape design spans 95,000 m2 and includes hospital arrival space, internal courtyards, a public park area, green roofs, and parking spaces.

Research clearly shows the great restorative value of prioritizing natural elements in our environment. Blood pressure, pulse, muscle tension, and other body stress indicators fall measurably when we interact with nature. This exact knowledge has been put into play in SLA’s design for Herlev Hospital.

The outdoor spaces are designed to appeal to all senses: From stress-relieving gardens and recreational corners to fragrant flower beds and playful pools of water. Since many of the hospital’s users are staying indoors the landscape is designed as a series of ’paintings’ that change character in tune with the seasons. With SLA’s landscape design Herlev Hospital will become a lush, vibrant and green hospital where people will not only feel better than they usually do – they will also heal faster.

Three important drivers behind SLA’s planting strategy were to create a strong sense of living nature, optimal opportunities for biodiversity, and a minimum of expenses for maintenance. Among other things, this led to the design of special seed mixes and of different soil types where different biotopes can develop. With the vital plants and a certain ‘self-grownness,’ we have also ensured that expenses and resources for maintenance and irrigation are kept to an absolute minimum.

With SLA’s landscape design, Herlev Hospital becomes a lush, vibrant, and green hospital where patients, relatives, and employees have views and access to nature and its beneficial effects. The nature design thus helps reduce patients’ hospitalization times, reduces stress and anxiety for both patients, employees and visitors, and at the same time strengthens biodiversity and adapt all outdoor spaces to the climate through nature-based design solutions.