ALEX / 20.03.11 / SENT 8:55AM
Great to see
the plans.
Project of
a lifetime.
STEVE / 20.03.11 / SENT 09:15AM
Couldn’t agree more. Let's get started!
More than just a brief. A hospital reimagined.
Challenge accepted.
It was a brief many of us at Hoare Lea dream of... to completely reinvent the idea of how a hospital should look, feel, and function.
Alder Hey had rejected a simple refurbishment of its outmoded Edwardian building, and instead chose to build a state-of-the-art facility from the ground up, putting health & wellbeing at its heart.
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We knew how much this building could truly change the lives of very ill children. There was no room for anything less than ground-breaking innovation.
Steve Clifford, Partner
Challenge
A hospital in disguise.
The Alder Hey NHS Trust’s vision for the project emphasised innovation and clinical best practice.
The brief was ambitious and aspirational: the creation of a ‘children’s health park’ rather than a hospital. Ideal concepts such as ‘greenery’, ‘views’, ‘therapeutic’ and ‘innovative’ were specified, alongside a requirement for the building to be fundamentally clinically functional and sustainable.
The brief was ambitious and aspirational: the creation of a ‘children’s health park’ rather than a hospital. Ideal concepts such as ‘greenery’, ‘views’, ‘therapeutic’ and ‘innovative’ were specified, alongside a requirement for the building to be fundamentally clinically functional and sustainable.
- Client: BDP
Approach
Invisible backbone.
When you need a hospital to not feel like a hospital, the rule is simple: hide or change anything that is associated with such a place. That was where we came in.
The MEP systems and services needed to work with the balance of wellbeing-centred design and clinical equipment requirements.
The MEP systems and services needed to work with the balance of wellbeing-centred design and clinical equipment requirements.
Human Impact
Healing spaces.
Alder Hey in the Park was a project that became more than just a job. The fundamental aim of improving children’s wellbeing added a new level of focus and emotional investment to our already dedicated teams. It’s the Alder Hey staff who make lives better, but we were humbled to be able to design services that make their jobs that little bit easier.
Technical Impact
Heralding a new future in hospitals.
Our MEP designs helped ensure that the architectural vision – which was for almost all rooms to have a view of the park – could be a reality. And it’s not just ‘nice-to-have’ design: research has shown that patients with access to views filled with light and greenery are more likely to recover faster.
It’s a true departure from the typical idea of a hospital, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on a building of this scale and complexity further than ever before.
It’s a true departure from the typical idea of a hospital, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on a building of this scale and complexity further than ever before.
From the beginning, our vision was to create something really special and unique. It’s truly a world-class healing environment for children and young people.
Key Figures
275,000
Patients treated each year
270
Bedrooms across six wards
60%
Electrical power generated on site
1,200
space multi-storey car park
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The excitement now is this innovative hospital performing in practice, and what we can do to further optimise performance.
David Armstrong, Partner