Sycamore receives two Building Better Healthcare Awards
We are delighted to have received two accolades at the Building Better Healthcare Awards for Sycamore at Northgate Park Hospital, on behalf of the client and project team.
The highly respected awards programme recognises innovation and achievements within the healthcare built environment in the UK.
The Best Healthcare Development (£25m – £75m) award recognises an exemplary project across all healthcare sectors, valued between £25 million and £75 million, which shows cleverness and innovation in design, and which creates a positive, supportive and therapeutic environment for patients, visitors and staff.
The Best External Environment award recognises an outstanding external space that enhances the overall experience of patients, staff, and visitors.
Sycamore is the culmination of so much best practice and research, offering outstanding facilities for our staff and the people we care for.
A visible public reception space and café provide a welcoming entrance into the building.
The entrance building provides a positive first impression of the building and its service.
Ruairi Reeves and Lianne Knotts accepting the awards on behalf of the client and project team.
Sycamore is a new medium secure mental health facility at the heart of the redevelopment of Northgate Park Hospital in Northumberland, UK, providing inpatient accommodation for 72 male patients with a range of forensic mental health needs. 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.
Six patient wards are paired together and arranged around a large recreation courtyard. This forms a secure boundary without the need for high fences and the feeling of confinement they can create. Designed in collaboration with landscape architects, Colour, and featuring rich landscaping and integrated security measures, this shared space for activity and wellbeing creates a familiar and normalised setting for patient recovery.
A brilliant design and amazing facility for the delivery of care for those whose life must be so difficult. A big thank you from me personally, as Medical Architecture opened my eyes to what mental health facilities should really look like.
The recreation courtyard is separated into a ‘passive zone’ for rest and refuge, and an ‘active zone’ for activity and fitness.
Sycamore provides a choice of open or private spaces for activity and wellbeing, to ensure access to outside space is inclusive.
Principles of ‘prospect’ and refuge’ were considered, with the courtyard separated into two distinct character zones: ‘Passive’ and ‘Active’. The ‘Passive’ zone provides restful places to sit amongst plants and grasses. These smaller-scale spaces offer a sense of enclosure, combined with views out to the wider recreation area to provide gentle enticement. The ‘Active’ zone includes two jogging/walking loops, social table tennis area with stepped seating, basketball court, mini-tennis court, fitness ‘trim trail’, and a covered sports barn. A collection of personalised paving markers with local reference points, display motivational messages and distance indicators to encourage activity.
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.
Passive Zone: Smaller-scale spaces offering a sense of enclosure with views out to the wider recreation area.
Personalised paving markers display messages to encourage activity and inspire reflection.
Active Zone: Features a choice of activities for a variety of fitness levels.
It is fantastic to accept these two awards, on behalf of the client and the project team, for a scheme that sets a precedent in mental health design for its varied choice of internal and external environments, ensuring a meaningful day for patients at different stages of their recovery.