The aim of this project was to develop a cost-effective, standard-based and scalable clinical information system for use in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The development started in 1998 at the University Giessen, Germany. Since its introduction as the basic documentation system at the ICU ward of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine in January 1999, all relevant clinical data of 1723 patients have been recorded. The implementation of the system in two further ICUs is scheduled for the year 2000. The following article describes some of the principal design goals of the system, including the medical vision that drove its interface design, and focuses on the technological underpinnings of the overall system architecture.