Discover Germany | Special Theme | World Architecture Festival
Main image: The children’s and youth hospital of the University Clinic Freiburg. Below right: Peter M. H. Damm. Bottom right: ‘Das Neue Hauner’.
Leaders in health and science
- based on more than 65 years of experience
Since 1950, the Hattingen/Ruhr-based RDS Partner architectural society has been striving to become a leading expert in the field of medical and scientific buildings. The unparalleled expertise is not only limited to these sectors and has gained the Hattingen-based company with its three subsidiaries countless industry awards and an outstanding reputation. TEXT: NANE STEINHOFF I PHOTOS + VISUALISATIONS: ARCHITEKTEN BDA RDS PARTNER
Today, 59 employees realise buildings in numerous project areas under the leadership of the executive shareholder Dipl. – Ing. Architekt BDA/AKG Peter M. H. Damm. These projects include buildings for health, research, administration, industry, environment, education, judiciary and culture sectors. Buildings for seniors, residential constructions, as well as preservations of historical monuments are further specialisations. However, the special focus of RDS Partner’s work lies in the planning, realisation and restructuring of buildings for the health, research and education sector. “65 years of gaining complex specialist knowledge in these respective fields poses as a unique selling point for our architectural society and significantly shapes the quality of our company,” notes Damm. In the past ten years, RDS Partner especially developed outstanding expertise in the area of scientific buildings. For example, they planned and realised one 102 | Issue 43 | October 2016
of the most modern infectious disease research institutes worldwide alongside Swiss colleagues and the FriedrichLoeffler-Institute for animal health (FLI). The new building enables scientific research up until the highest international biosafety level of four - only two more research institutes have these possibilities. It seems no wonder that RDS Partner was awarded the 2016 building award for MecklenburgVorpommern in June 2016 for this project. Focussing on humans “We support our clients as an experienced and innovative team. Thereby, the human always stands at the core of our doings,” explains Damm. Individual, functional and precise architecture is as part of RDS Partner’s guiding principles as the economic, sustainable and high-quality implementation. “Furthermore, our clients appreciate our society’s continuity. The third generation is already integrated as Arne Thorben Damm is the youngest
appointed member of the Association of German Architects (BDA), as well as of the AKG (Architects for hospital constructions and the healthcare sector). Today, he is a partner in our company,”smiles Damm. An example of RDS Partner’s impressive portfolio is the new construction for the university hospital Freiburg’s children’s and youth clinic. At the end of 2015, the RDS team won the architecture competition for this 120-million-euro project, beating 20 renowned architectural societies from all over Europe. The visualisation of the patient room shows RDS Partner’s contribution to creating a ‘visionary’ children’s’ and women’s’ clinic for the ‘Das Neue Hauner’ competition of LMU Munich’s clinic. A light colour scheme creates a friendly and cheerful atmosphere, which fosters the recovery process and improves the quality