Project: Inselspital Bern
Shading Solution for Minergie-P-ECO
Facts & Figures
Year of manufacture: 2017–2023
Building owner: Insel Gruppe AG
Region: Bern
The skyline of Inselspital Bern has long been a defining feature of Switzerland’s capital. In 2023, after nearly a decade of planning and construction, this iconic silhouette was further enhanced with the completion of the new Anna-Seiler-Haus, a building that spans 82,000 square metres and has a volume of 371`529m3 cubic metres. Standing at 63 metres high, this intricate replacement building is the first hospital of this size and complexity to be certified to Minergie-P-ECO standards. The spatial concept of the Anna-Seiler-Haus is particularly innovative: the level of privacy increases as you move upwards, much in the same way that a city transitions from public spaces to private residences.
On the nursing floors, you first enter the “neighbourhood”, a central area designed as a reception, meeting, and access space within the point-symmetric floor plan. Similar to quiet, residential streets used primarily by locals, corridors lead to patient rooms on the exterior and to treatment and care centres within the building Floor-to-ceiling glazing floods these “neighbourhoods” with natural light, transforming them into spaces that go beyond mere functionality. This overall concept also includes the shading solution realised by Schenker Storen.
Close Collaboration with Metalworkers
The shading solution was developed in close collaboration with the metalworking company responsible for the facade design. This partnership, along with the precision work of the metalworkers who installed the facade elements, made it possible for the blinds to be ordered during the planning phase, resulting in significant time savings. A total of 3,200 MV90 blinds were delivered in 10 different sizes and expertly installed. These blinds not only feature a sophisticated design but are also extremely durable, requiring minimal maintenance while offering excellent darkening and heat insulation properties.
Innovative Motor Drive System
At Inselspital, patient comfort is the top priority, and this consideration extends to the shading system. To ensure the slat blinds operate as quietly as possible, all 3,200 units were fitted with a special motor with a soft brake. This motor ensure a gentle, quiet stop, avoiding the final “click” sound—particularly important in a hospital environment where large-scale adjustments are controlled by automated systems. To perfect this system, a prototype was first developed at Schenker Storen’s headquarters in Schönenwerd and presented to the client on a test facade at the Bern site.
In-depth Collaboration with Project Planners
Schenker Storen’s shading and daylight management solution is an integral part of the building’s overall design, which in projects of this scale is typically overseen by the building engineers. Before construction began, these solutions were fine-tuned, with every detail—such as the controller (whether room-specific or integrated into the building control) and cable routing—carefully planned. For the Inselspital project, a motor was sent in advance so that the electrical planners could integrate the necessary parameters into the controller system. The collaboration culminated in the final handover of the system and the programming of the control settings.
