Geburtshaus Terra Alta, Oberkirch, Switzerland
Dolmus Architekten 2016
Lead Architects: Gani Turunc, Cédric von Däniken
The Terra Alta Birth Centre is a private midwifery care birth centre in Oberkirch, Switzerland.
We visited it in November 2024.
click on any image for lightbox view
Comments on the space: excerpts from interviews
“There are two rooms…’Sole’, because it has the sun… …and the other is ‘Luna’…(all the rooms have names)…”
“Sometimes I want to be here [Sole], and sometimes in the other room…here it’s so open…and so light…
and [the Luna room] it's a bit like a cave…and sometimes I need to be there, and sometimes if I can choose, I want to stay here…”
“When I started here, I loved this room [Sole] very much, I wasn’t happy there [Luna]...
and then I realised a lot of women really love the other room [Luna]…so now I also love it….”
— Midwife
Last week, I had night shift, and this [experience] was really, really beautiful… [the birthing woman] came about 6 a.m.,
laid down here…the sun was just coming up, and all was light in here, and then the partner said…(he was really fascinated)…’the mornings here are really beautiful!’”
— Midwife
“I like the bathtubs with the tiny tiles in rainbow graded colouring. And also…the furniture with wood and soft fabric.”
-Researcher 1
“Everything seemed so considerate and considered, the ambience of the wood and the concealed lighting, the views, the visibility of the main desk person, the place to hang coats, the places to sit, the toy(s) for children, the dining area - all visible upon first entry.”
-Researcher 2