Koch sanatorium Hospital with grounds

Kochovo sanatorium is a treatment house from 1929 to 1930 in Bratislava-Old Town on Partizánska street. The building was created as a women's sanatorium. It is registered as a National Cultural Monument and included in the DOCOMOMO list.

The object was founded by MUDr. Karol Koch. The building was designed in 1928 and the implementation took place between 1929 and 1930. The builder was Joseph Berný. The project was created in collaboration with architect Dušan Jurkovič and architects Jindřich Mergancom and Otmar Klimeš. The Sanatorium was built in a residential area on Partizánska Street, which was originally a road in the vineyard bed Wolfern.

The building is solved in the style of functionalism and has a shape extended V with a bevelled corner. The building is planted in the slope; the north side is headed towards the street and south into the garden. It's a symmetrical three-track layout of four floors. The supporting system consists of reinforced concrete skeleton with brick filling. The exterior is lined with red-brown ceramic tiles from Jurkovičová Trnavská Brick with horizontal crackling. Facades have large windows and in the middle of the facade there are striped windows. Entrance areas are lined with travertine and marble.

The layout was designed with emphasis on hygiene, light and health. Original capacity was 36 beds. Single and double rooms for patients were in the side wings on the first and second floors; the south oriented rooms had balconies. Each room had a different color tone and was equipped with telephone, radio, and signal bells. In the middle there is a staircase and on the first floor there is a glass chapel with a sloping roofing. The operating hall with strip windows was designed for optimal illumination.

Part of the area is an exotic garden founded by Botanist Jozef Mišák. It is built on terraces in steep terrain. It originally grew 120 plant species, including 30 coniferous and 26 leafy permanent green alien trees. Part of the garden were fountains, benches, swimming pool and sunny spa plateau. There were statues in the space, such as Lovers or Mother with a child. The whole area records the Monument Office of the Slovak Republic under number ÚZPF 748 and consists of nine objects, including hospital, garden, swimming pool, three fountains, fences with gates and two vases.

During World War II, the sanatorium served as a German female clinic. After the war ended, it was nationalized. In 1938, Andrei Hlinka was treated at the facility. The building continued to be used as an obstetric and medical institution for women, where today the Women's KOCH Hospital is based. Since 2008 the building does not comply with sanitary standards for gynaecological equipment mainly due to the size of the rooms. Since 2009, the building has been renovated, considering a new function of the building and saving elements of the exotic garden.