HLM Architects is responsible for the design of the New Victoria Hospital in Glasgow, which has successfully reached financial close under the Government’s PFI procurement route for the provision of major new healthcare facilities in the city.
The 41,500 m2 new building, which is planned to commence construction on-site in December 2006 and be fully operational by 2009, will provide a flexible and sustainable healthcare facility that will deliver high quality, integrated ambulatory care services for the populations in South Glasgow, as part of the wider modernisation of hospital services throughout the city.
The design solution is the result of extensive site analysis and option appraisal and is based on the concept of creating a “hospital in the park” which maximises the creation of a high amenity therapeutic environment for patients and staff in a mature landscaped setting, while retaining connectivity between the new building and its immediate context by creating references and relationships to the recognisable urban forms and materials prevalent in the surrounding and typically Victorian streetscape.
The new hospital is a significant public building which provides an appropriate civic scale on this prominent site and reinforces the existing urban environment by the creation of a contemporary crescent on Grange Road as well as the introduction of an open green space at the entrance approach. The elevations have been carefully composed in a combination of dark blue/grey brickwork, terracotta rain screen cladding, patinised copper panels and render to articulate the functions within the building and respond to the surrounding streetscape and parkland setting.
The colour and texture of these cladding materials will combine with the landscape treatment to create a reassuring and non-institutional healthcare environment for all users of the building.
It is anticipated that the new facility will act as a major catalyst in the regeneration of Battlefield Cross and the surrounding area and the building has been designed to maximise ease of access and orientation for all patients and visitors via a recognisable and welcoming main entrance atrium which faces west overlooking the new civic space defined by the main crescent shaped façade.
The impact of the large amount of car parking required for a building of this type has been minimised by locating most of the parking bays under the building and exploiting the topography of the existing site to screen parked cars from view and maintain natural ventilation to this area. In terms of functional content the new hospital facilities accommodate flexible outpatient clinics, innovatively configured around a series of internal courtyards. These clinics include ENT/audiology, ophthalmology, cardiology. and multi-test areas as well as general outpatient functions and are co-located with extensive diagnostic imaging, day surgery, and rehabilitation facilities.
Separate access is provided to a day hospital, a minor injuries unit incorporating a GP led out of hours emergency service, and facilities for emergency dental treatment. Provision is also incorporated for specialties such as endoscopy, renal dialysis, and diabetic day care, in addition to a significant element of flexible short stay ward accommodation and the full range of support services normally associated with this type of ambulatory care environment. A comprehensive healing arts strategy has been integrated with the design of the building based on the generic theme of sustainability in the context of healthcare.
