Medical Architecture named Architectural Practice of the Year
We are extremely proud to have been named Architectural Practice of the Year at the IHEEM Healthcare Estates Awards! The award recognises a practice that has produced an outstanding body of work in the healthcare sector over the last twelve months.
We consider this a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our outstanding team, as well as the successful partnerships we have built with our network of clients, consultants and architectural collaborators, over the past year and beyond. We would like to express our gratitude to this talented and committed group of people.
Paul Yeomans receiving the Architectural Practice of the Year award from category sponsors Air Sentry and awards presenter Kevin Keegan, at the IHEEM Healthcare Estates Awards ceremony.
The accolade follows a year in which we have been working collaboratively with a wide range of excellent NHS clients and project stakeholders to address the challenges presented by an ageing NHS estate. This includes the creation of strategic estate plans to establish prioritised programmes of investment that ensure maximum value and impact.
An overview illustration of our strategic estate planning process and tools.
In May 2023, we concluded our work with Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on their 2023-28 Estates Strategy. Whilst the proposed works included significant new build investments, an important element was a comprehensive Internal Improvement Programme to bring a consistent approach to refurbishment across the Trust’s sites.
We completed the latest phase of this programme in January 2024 at the Freeman Hospital. As well as essential ward refurbishments, this included an upgrade to high traffic lift lobbies and circulation spaces. Designed to a common standard, the internal spaces provide an environment that is calming and reduces anxiety, incorporating an artistic approach to dementia-friendly wayfinding.
Great job by Medical Architecture, what a transformation. Super environment and fantastic for the staff and patients.
Working with the Trust’s dementia team, an artistic approach to wayfinding was developed for the internal improvement programme, to aid those with cognitive impairment.
Warm colours and timber finishes were incorporated in the upgraded circulation spaces to improve the environmental qualities of these high-traffic areas.
Over the past year, we have also been working with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to develop a regional estates strategy. Using our digital planning tools, we enabled the Trusts to gain a more informed view of 40 properties within their estate, and quickly define a set of development actions to maximize clinical, environmental, and commercial efficiency. We have supported the Trust in submitting business cases for two resulting integrated care hubs.
The design of these has been informed by our work on the Cavell Community Health and Wellbeing Hub. Setting a bold vision for community health, this exemplar scheme integrates clinical and social care models to promote a preventative approach to health, relieving pressure on acute services and infrastructure.
Our estates team’s collaboration with Medical Architecture has produced a bespoke register which identifies investment priorities and helps us to ensure that our estate aligns with long-term strategic and clinical objectives.
The Cavell Community Health and Wellbeing Hub provides spaces for nature-based social prescribing activities, including outside exercise classes and gardening groups.
Designed to feel welcoming and uplifting, the building is centred around a wellbeing hub which is experienced as a series of outdoor courtyards and indoor public squares with an animated café space.
The project is one of six pilot schemes for the Cavell Centre programme, which came from our work with NHS England to envisage the future of integrated community healthcare facilities. Developed in collaboration with Architype, the building adopts a pioneering approach to sustainable design, as the only pilot designed to Passivhaus standards, guaranteeing significant lifetime operational savings.
Recognizing the importance of mental health as well as physical health, in August 2023 we saw the completion of Sycamore, a medium secure mental health facility at Northgate Park Hospital in Northumberland, delivered through Cohort 1 of the NHS New Hospital Programme. Developed around the concept of a ‘village campus’, the building provides a wide variety of indoor and outdoor settings for relaxation and activity, ensuring a meaningful day for patients.
This is a flagship development, and it has set a new standard, not just for our future projects but for the whole mental health sector.
Sycamore provides a choice of open or private spaces for activity and wellbeing, to ensure access to outside space is inclusive.
The recreation courtyard is separated into a ‘passive zone’ for rest and refuge, and an ‘active zone’ for activity and fitness.
Despite the challenges the national health service faces, we are extremely lucky to be working with magnificent people who are dedicated to creating outstanding environments for patient care. This award is for all these people, and a great reward for a year of outstanding projects and achievements.
Our recent designs for an integrated care hub informed by the health and wellbeing principles of the Cavell Centre programme.