Arup has been commissioned to design what will be one of Europe’s largest hospitals in Vienna, Austria. The Krankenhaus Nord Wein hospital win marks another milestone in the international recognition of the firm’s expertise in the field of healthcare. Construction work has just started on the 800-bed facility, which will cost over €500m to build and a similar amount again to fit out to the world-class standard specified. Arup’s healthcare design team in Ireland worked in close collaboration with an Austrian partner to win the design contract for the facility, which will be sited on the east side of the River Danube. Arup’s experience in most of the major healthcare projects in Ireland over the past decade, allied to its international track record, was central to the firm’s success.

Shaping a healthy world

The new hospital is due for completion in 2016 and will have the capacity to receive 40,000 hospital admissions, 250,000 outpatient frequencies and about 16,000 surgical procedures per year.

“We are delighted to win such a prestigious commission. Added to projects recently underway in Korea and in Helsinki, this project further strengthens our move into international markets, which is greatly helped by the fact that we are part of the global Arup Group. We aim to keep growing our international business and it is important to recognise that there are regions around the world that represent a healthy marketplace for our services even if the domestic market in Ireland is facing difficulties.”

- Eoghan Lynch, Director of Arup in Ireland

News of the Vienna contract has reinforced optimism across the Arup team in Ireland, where the firm has committed to investing for the future in areas such as its graduate recruitment programme.

‘It is important to look to the future and support the top class education our engineering graduates receive here in Ireland’, Mr Lynch said.