New Specialist Hospital

With the flexibility to adapt to future changes in service delivery, the New Specialist Hospital provides a sustainable new home for specialist services at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI). To support the Trust’s ambitious objective to achieve net zero carbon by 2040, the building has been designed to be net zero carbon ‘in use’ and to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM rating. Offering a calming, therapeutic environment for patients, internal spaces and a rooftop treatment terrace have been arranged to exploit views to historic green spaces which neighbour the site.

The new clinical block represents an important element of the estates strategy and masterplan we developed previously with the Trust. It will include improved and expanded adult critical care facilities, enhanced burns care, a range of repurposed clinical wards, and an expansion of women’s outpatient services. The proposals have been informed by an extensive programme of engagement sessions, ensuring the needs of a wide variety of stakeholders have been considered.

Diagrammatically, the building is split into two elements divided by a central ‘street’ that provides clear wayfinding and efficient circulation. Clinical spaces have been strategically arranged to establish and maintain critical functional relationships and adjacencies. Using a well-developed grid and repeatable rooms, the building anticipates the need for future flexibility, allowing adaptation for changes in service and function.

The landscaped approach to the building softens its edges, and the openness of the ground floor lounge area provides a welcoming and reassuring entrance sequence. Once inside, spaces have been scaled to reflect the dwell time people are anticipated to spend here, to encourage a sense of calm in what can be a stressful and anxious experience. Courtyards interspersed at select points allow natural daylight to spill deep into the heart of the plan, further contributing to the wellbeing agenda.

The building has been arranged to exploit views across to the neighbouring park, especially in rooms where long, solitary stays would be expected. A rooftop outdoor treatment space provides bed-bound patients with the therapeutic benefits of fresh air, park views and landscaping, aiding recovery.

The elevation that faces the neighbouring historic park is significant as a public frontage to the new building and the hospital site. A repeated pattern of angled metal ‘bays’ divides the mass into a smaller three-dimensional grid form, providing solar shading to patient rooms, and offering a dynamic element to the facade.