Addiction Therapy Centre, Salzburg, Austria

A place that connects

For years, the strip between the hospital campus and the public realm was nothing more than a car park. With the new Addiction Therapy Centre in Salzburg, it has been re-imagined as a place of healing, purpose, and structure. The building forms a gentle transition, mediating between city and clinic, and gives patients a protected space for a fresh start.

Architecture with structure

A green-tinted concrete, moulded with RECKLI formliner 2/22 Altmühl, lends the façade its signature look: a vertical timber grain with delicate lines and small knot holes. The surface reads both handcrafted and precise—more grown than manufactured. “We first made samples using real timber shuttering and then tested several RECKLI surfaces. In the end we chose 2/22 Altmühl,” explains architect Christoph Scheithauer.

The original plan called for in-situ concrete bands, but the geometrically demanding planters made that option uneconomical. The answer was a bespoke precast element produced by Leube Betonteile GmbH & Co KG. “Because our eye-catchers—the concrete planters—would have made carpentry formwork extremely complex, we developed a precast component with Leube that met every requirement for shape and surface,” Scheithauer adds.

Design with depth

On this project the formliner showed its full strengths: clear design language, technical precision, and high repeat accuracy. It not only enabled cost-effective production of the elements but also gave the building the calm, understated presence that underscores its therapeutic purpose.