DEMENTIA CARE

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The World Health Organisation states that, 35.6 million people have dementia
and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Dementia is one of the major
causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.
Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of
ageing. The disease is the healthcare challenge of the 21st century. Our ageing
population means the high incidence of the disease is set to soar.
- The disease costs the economy 23 billion a year
- Over 800,000 people in the United Kingdom affected.
- By 2040 the number affected is expected to double
 eople with dementia in general hospitals have worse outcomes in terms of
P
length of stay, mortality and institutionalisation.
Planning for the future is needed now to ensure that the right care, support
and environments are available. This includes: effective care settings,
encouraging and supporting independence among those with dementia and
promoting new cost-effective models of service that provide enhanced care.

Creative use of artwork to prevent

overlooking from a corridor
window and provide point of
interest. St. Nicholas Hospital,
Newcastle upon Tyne.

Dementia is not:
Dementia isnt when you cant find your car keys. We all do that. Its when youre standing
at the door with your keys in your hand and you dont know what they are there for.

ENABLING DESIGN

A landscape of therapeutic gardens to encourage outdoor

activities and provide a tranquil focal point for the hospital.
Roseberry Park, Middlesbrough, UK

MAKING IT HAPPEN
Achieving excellent service led design needs an ambitious client, thoughtful briefing
and effective stakeholder engagement. Medical Architecture draws on knowledge,
experience and foresight to enable you to realise your service vision.

Thoughtful Briefing
Understanding your objectives is the first step to developing a comprehensive
project brief. This is an iterative process which requires a methodical approach. We
will:
Listen to you and your project stakeholders.
Gather supporting information, data and surveys.
Record, and classify what we have heard and the information received.
Communicate the project brief clearly and concisely.
At Medical Architecture we formulate an approach to delivering your plans that
responds to the context and is based upon experience and adherence to standards.
We also draw on evidence-based research and a range of relevant guidance prepared
by us for government and specialist housing providers to embed best practice.
Projects are benchmarked against the best international examples healthcare design
ensures world class services are matched by world class new facilities.
Your Business Case must be affordable and calibrated to deliver the best long-term
value whilst providing robust and inspiring healthcare architecture. Our tiered
approach to developing design options ensures best value.
V
 alue engineering ensures that the budget is being used to deliver an
affordable facility.
Whole life and revenue costs that reflect effective use of workforce,
sustainability, running costs, adaptability, maintenance cycle and end life
costs.
Qualitative benefits in privacy and dignity of patient environment, workplace
quality, ease of wayfinding, safety and security as well as your organisations
brand identity.

Effective Stakeholder Engagement

Buy-in from stakeholders can be pivotal to the success of delivering a project vision.
Without a forum for engagement, stakeholders may not understand benefits the
project offers. A successful engagement often leads to stakeholders becoming the
most powerful advocates of change. Our team is experienced in managing client
relationships effectively through patient and staff consultation and workshops and
staff group sign-off processes including:

Patients representatives.
Clinical staff groups.
Estates management.
External Stakeholders.

A programme for consultation and approvals is agreed providing a purposeful

framework for engagement. We communicate using language and tools appropriate
to the audience, neither loaded with jargon nor patronising. Where needs appear to
conflict, design options are balanced to reflect the needs of clinical stakeholders. We
ensure that each group get a sense of participation in the process to ensure buy-in,
whilst also effectively managing expectation.
We understand that healthcare professionals have limited time available for
meetings. To get best value from stakeholders we encourage workshop based
interaction with participants carefully selected to represent an aspect of planning
that is relevant to their role. We plan engagement to be:

Communicated well in advance.

Conducted in an efficient manner, seldom more than 90 minutes.
Use easily understood methods to conduct appraisals.
Record the process giving feedback to participants.

INFORMED DESIGN

Different height planters accommodate various stages of frailty,

from wheelchair user to more able bodied. Roseberry Park,
Middlesbrough, UK

Designing for wellbeing

A third of dementia sufferers currently live in care. For an individual with dementia, being
placed into care is both stressful and traumatic. With a declining memory, the setting of
care needs to directly respond to these emotions. Design plays a big part in creating an
atmosphere that is tranquil and familiar.
Well designed dementia care settings give a positive first impression; they are reassuring
and promote self-confidence in the patient, carer, family and friends. Thoughtful
planning helps care staff, improves efficiency and communicates a purposeful
professional ethos.
With over two decades of design experience and knowledge drawn from a wide range
of successful projects you can be confident that design for dementia care delivered
with our team will deliver or exceed your planned objectives. We benchmark designs
to ensure best practice and apply evidence-based research to form environments that
are responsive to the challenges dementia patients face and supportive for those who
provide care.

Laying the foundations

The project brief determines the planned size, functional content and model of care.
Location, existing landscape and buildings will each offer a unique prospect. Our team
formulate design options that manage constraints and capture the opportunities.
Risks identified during the initial stages are mitigated and value designed in. Thorough
appraisal of options provides a robust business-case for the planned investment.
Communicating a Clear Concept
Overarching aims for each project shall be self-evident in our design concept sketches
and modelling. Clear communication with the project team and stakeholders
builds support and leads to a shared project vision that provides the momentum to
carry each scheme forward. We facilitate perfect day workshops in collaboration
with stakeholders model the planned operation of new facilities. This provides an
understanding of practical dynamics of care for specific user groups and allows us to
tailor design to the needs of those patients.
Flexibility, Growth and Change
Resilient buildings must be adaptable to respond to a wide range of changing needs.
For example, we know that the number of younger people with dementia is increasing
due to changes in lifestyle choices. An older person with failing memory and an inability
to reason is supported by an environment that is recognisable and familiar. Younger
patients have larger visitor groups and differing social interests. Our understanding will
help create an adaptable environment that satisfies variable age groups and staffing
configurations.
Easy access to outdoor space for the elderly patients,
achieved by wrapping the building around a series of
gardens, allowing direct access from anywhere in the
building. Highcroft Hospital, Birmingham, UK

Privacy and Dignity

Providing an environment that fosters choice and independence without compromising
standards of care begins with good design. We consider the building users as
individuals with some common needs. There may be a constantly changing mix in
terms of gender, pathology, ethnicity and the degree of risk which they present. We
have developed planning strategies that enables the individual and group to co-exist
in easily managed clusters. The threshold between the private domain and communal
areas of residential care represents one of the most important transitions. Different rules
in each space and lack of differentiation between communal and private space can
create conflict.
Orientation and Safety
A reassuring environment helps patients understand where they are, the time of day
and provides cues to behaviour. This enhances the sense of well-being and can reduce
stressful demands on staff and carers. Our method of design provides clear wayfinding
and consistent legible planning. Ready availability of sanitary facilities with consistent
and easily understood signage reduces anxiety. Landmarks in circulation help stage the
patient journey and good visibility helps staff observation. Boundaries and enclosure
are necessary and should be easily supervised.
Support for Frailty
As physical ability and reactions decline, so does cognitive ability. Older people can be
at increased risk of injury from trips, slips and falls. These risks are greatly compounded
by admission to an unfamiliar setting such as hospital or institutional care. Injury
undermines confidence as well as personal well-being and increases the cost and
complexity of care. Falls are responsible for at least 40% of all accidents in hospital. Our
design pays special attention to supporting frailty by providing reassuring handrails,
incorporating rest places and ensuring that potential obstructions are easily navigated
by use of accessibility aids, good lighting, floor surfaces and colour contrast.

Right to Left.
Use of daylight and natural
materials in spaces to improve
circulation and promote healthy
lifestyle. Glenside Health Services,
Adelaide
Contemplative spaces with views
of therapeutic gardens. Tyne, Low
Secure Unit, Northgate Hospital,
Morpeth, UK
Integrated artwork providing
wayfinding. Rose Lodge, South
Tyneside, UK

Internal Environment
A therapeutic environment fosters wellness and encourages activity. Daylight reinforces
our circadian rhythms and provides cues to passing time. Ventilation should avoid
draughts but provide fresh air. Both long views with landmarks and activity as well as
short local views offer scope for enjoyable engagement and reflection.
Sensory Design
Dementia reduces the response of all five senses. Sensory design modifies the reactive
nature of the surroundings. Good building acoustics can make the environment
intelligible and calming which is vital for dementia patients. Our team designs to
accommodate degeneration of sight and a changing perception of colours. We use
colour contrast studies to ensure that patient navigation and orientation is made easier.
Tactile materials such as textured wood finishes provide warmth and assurance. Use of
aroma around dining areas is particularly important in stimulating the physiology for
good nutrition.

Healthy Lifestyles
A sense of well-being is underpinned by promoting healthy living. The environment has
a role to play in encouraging activity. Creative circulation routes with alternative choices
promote walking. Multi-use rooms may be used for dance and physical activities. Those
who have very limited mobility are to be encouraged by wheelchair friendly routes and
with wellness guiding design, even those who are bed bound will appreciate access to
balconies and gardens.

Interior Design and Furniture

Internal finishes mean a lot to all of us. Co-ordinated design and furnishings make
the difference between an institutional care setting and one which is personal and
reassuring. Careful selection of materials, finishes, lighting and furniture contribute to
quality and comfort. Artwork can help reminiscence. The bedroom is the one place that
can be identified as a persons own where self-identity is reinforced through design to
accommodate familiar personal objects and environmental cues.
Gardens and Landscape
It is a well understood notion that peoples mental health is enhanced through access
to the external environment. A connection to outside space offers recognition of the
seasons and the chance to engage in horticultural activities during the spring and
summer months. Gardens must be safe and navigable so that residents can enjoy
unrestricted access to them; essential for their independence and well-being. Seating
and patios can provide opportunities for residents to eat outside. Potting areas can
allow residents to help with gardening while outdoor spaces can also be used for group
events.
Staff Satisfaction
The best people provide great care. Design plays an important role in providing an
attractive workplace. Successful environments create opportunities for informal social
interaction between residents and their carers. Spatial features can reduce patient
anxiety; especially for those with challenging behaviours. This helps reduce staff stress
and good observation means staff can focus on their tasks without distraction. A great
workplace helps recruit and retain the best staff.
Facilities Management
Maintenance and Facilities Management access for delivery of food and clinical supplies
needs to be arranged so that there is minimal disturbance of the patient environment.
This can be achieved by careful zoning of the building, but must be considered from the
outset.

Careful selection of materials, finishes, lighting

and furniture to provide quality and comfort.
Glenside Health Services, Adelaide.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN
1.

2.

4.
2.

3.

6.
3.

6.

5.

4.
5.

8.
1.

7.

1. Reception desk, welcoming and accessible

2. Good lighting
3. Comfortable and inviting waiting space
4. Dropped ceiling to define space. Acoustic
properties improved to reduce reverberation
5. Artwork /point of interest
6. Clear and readable directional signage

1. Acoustic ceiling to reduce reverberation

2. Colour variance to define space
3. Efficient lighting
4. Space to sit/rest/meet visitors/chat
5. Defined staff bases
6. Personalisation/recognition of space
7. Discreet storage
8. Handrails and support

We wanted to provide a stimulating external environment that encouraged

curiosity and activity for the patients. We located a number of interactive objects
within a series of intimate courtyards that were safely and directly accessible.

Westerdale Unit, Roseberry Park

Middlesbrough, UK

Located within the Roseberry Park campus, the specially designed Westerdale unit is
divided into two wards for thirty-two Older Adult patients, with separate assessment
and treatment beds for people with dementia and for those with functional mental
health problems. Our design was guided by the sensitive interpretation of the Trusts
brief and service user aspirations to reflect the clinical requirements of a modern mental
health service and workforce.

Client: John Laing Social

Infrastructure with Tees, Esk and
Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Role Lead Consultant, Master
Planner, Architect, Interior Design

The unit is located within the 142 bed Adult Acute village setting underpinned by
Value 75m
a strong landscape framework affording seamless integration of gardens and interconnecting outside spaces. Varying sequences of landscape and architecture convey a Status Completed 2010
sense of domesticity and tranquillity, inverting the traditional mental health model. The
design was manipulated to reduce its bulk into recognisably human scaled spaces and
focused upon the individual patient experience, breaking down the accommodation
into a number of houses arranged around large activity garden. This created an
architecture of enclosure without fences to help remove stigma and encourage service
users to partake in activities in shared spaces as they would in the community.
This design concept is combined with a strong landscape and art strategy to provide an
attractive and comprehensible environment one which is easy to navigate and which
will stimulate therapeutic engagement and help support recovery. As patients and staff
move through the campus complex, spaces become intimate, more human and smallscale; passing through the civic spaces of the entrance plaza, and on to the residential
streetscapes of the central shared garden, ending at the private domesticity of the ward
interiors with its private gardens and bedroom views.
The therapeutic benefits of contact with nature is fully utilised where each patient has
close, generous and free access to the outdoors to a variety of sensory experiences. As
soon as a patient opens their bedroom door they get a view of a garden, the corridor
acts as a buffer with built-in window seats where they can relax before entering more
public day spaces.
The Westerdale units layout is arranged for flexibility but accommodating the particular
characteristics of the older adult patient. Bedrooms are clustered around the perimeter
of the ward units, keeping private space away from the day space and public areas.
Challenging Behaviour patients were specifically catered for alongside other dementia
sufferers, with dedicated facilities so that appropriate care can be provided without
disturbing the other patients or disrupting care patterns.
Significant and meaningful engagement with service users and staff occurred to test,
challenge and respond to the emerging design principles to ensure that the provision
was truly representative of their needs. Consultations took place with patients, their
carers and staff across all elements of the conceptual and detail design, thus creating a
real sense of ownership and understanding amongst all the project stakeholders.
Focused features of contemplation in the
landscape. Activity garden in a secure
courtyard. Roseberry Park, Middlesbrough, UK

We worked with a number of artists to develop a stimulating

environment for the patients and staff. A poem was set into
the ground that weaved from building to building and within
the landscape. A series of bird boxes we created, forming
special artworks in their own right while encouraging new
wildlife. Super-sized photographs of the nearby north
Yorkshire countryside were commissioned, providing
a special connection with local area. Roseberry Park,
Middlesbrough, UK

Awards
RIBA Award 2012
RIBA Award 2012 - Client of the Year
RIBA Northern Network Awards 2011: Gold Award
RIBA Northern Network Awards 2011: Hadrian Award (North East Project of the Year)
Design & Health International Academy Awards 2010: Highly Commended - Mental Health
Design

Dementia Care Centre, Monkwearmouth Hospital

Sunderland, UK

The new purpose built Dementia Care Campus, located at the Monkwearmouth
Hospital in Sunderland, consolidates the Trusts Dementia Care Services into one
location. The Campus provides 24 new inpatient beds with assessment and treatment
facilities alongside existing refurbished inpatient accommodation. A Day Hospital
provides clinics and session work departments for adults and older people, replacing
existing accommodation which restricted patient mobility and privacy.
Medical Architecture worked alongside the Iris Murdoch Dementia Services
Development Centre at Stirling University, to encapsulate the latest findings in
Dementia-related research.

Client: Northumberland, Tyne and

Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Role: Lead Consultant, Architect,
Healthcare Planner, Interior
Designer, Landscape Architect and
BIM Coordinator
Value: 9 million
Status: On site

Extensive stakeholder engagement during briefing led to a design which is responsive

to the specialist level of care and clinical needs of the most extreme cases. User group
engagement was particularly fruitful. A clear sense of purpose drove the initial high
level discussions about the particular type of service being proposed, and how it
improved the clients existing care offer. As alternatives emerged, designers assisted
by formulating diagrams to clarify the options in the context of the other desirable
features that the team wanted. This approach paid dividends throughout the project.
Guidance and legislation have been tested throughout, rather than taken at face value.
Ergonomics of the patient group were carefully studied to ensure that the building
really suited its users, rather than simply complying with existing guidance.
The client demanded the very best environment for dementia patients that was
affordable. The weekly operation of each ward was examined so that shared facilities
and storage could be arranged accordingly, linked to a new site facilities management
hub. This is positioned strategically on the site so that deliveries can be made without
compromising traffic flow and wayfinding. Preconceptions were challenged, resulting
in better value for money. Expensive but inappropriate features were dispensed with,
while spatial standards were tailored to actual needs. Rooms design as adaptable
to support both open-plan living spaces and intimate, cosy areas for privacy. Wards
planned with courtyards giving direct and free access to safe, secure and stimulating
therapeutic gardens from most patient rooms. The internal layout was interrogated
to ensure ward plans were kept as wide and spacious as possible. This fresh and
investigative approach to design is clearly evident in the layout of sanitary facilities and
in the finishes and colours throughout the building.

Early visualisation of main living / dining space.

Concept diagram

Early stage design sketches of living and dining

spaces. Monkwearmouth Dementia Care
Centre, UK

Reservoir Court, Highcroft Hospital

Birmingham, UK

Integral to the reprovision of inpatient services on the Highcroft Hospital site,

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust embarked on a PFI
development made up of a series of new buildings including Reservoir Court, providing
assessment for organic and functional mental illness with a 28 bed older adult inpatient
unit supplemented by a Community Centre.
Designed to prompt a change in the ethos of mental healthcare with an emphasis on
integrating design and service principles, the focus was on individuals dignity, privacy
and self-determination, their treatment and rehabilitation essential to a modern,
safe and effective service. Consistent with the Trusts model of care in a sympathetic,
domestic environment the unit provides graduated and controlled territory central to
the successful design and operation of a modern dementia care setting.
Resulting from a skilful use of existing topography and sited on a small hill between
two stands of mature trees, the design took a relaxed approach to geometry and used
the articulation of massing at every opportunity to scale down the building form. The
alignment of the building cranks around in response to the site contours with the
overall effect of making the building feel organically rooted in its context.
The highly articulated massing serves to dissolve the functional content allowing the
building to respond in an extended series of forms of more human scale. Entered at the
lower level giving good public access to the Community Centre you arrive at the private
and sheltered inpatient floor from the lift or stairs to views of the generous central
garden.
The inpatient accommodation is arranged as a necklace of private bedroom pavilions
arranged around three walled gardens viewed from the circulation wandering route.
Used as essential extensions to the building these additional outdoor rooms, separated
by the more public dining and lounge spaces, offer places for creative meandering,
therapeutic activities and contemplation while providing shade and shelter. Additional,
more small intimate and quiet day spaces are located at the pavilion knuckles with
views out to the woodland and street below.
Designed as two flexible wards for organically or functionally ill patients the space now
functions as one dedicated Dementia unit easily adapted due to the inherent flexible
design. Since opening, Reservoir Court has featured in both architectural and health
service journals as an exemplar inpatient facility. It continues to be visited by both
national and international healthcare clinicians and designers and used as a benchmark
in providing inpatient accommodation.

A safe and secure internal courtyard garden.

A sympathetic, domestic environment.
Highcroft Hospital, Birmingham, UK

Client: Northern Birmingham

Mental Health NHS Trust (now
Birmingham and Solihull Mental
Health NHS Foundation Trust)
Role: Lead Consultant, Architect,
Interior Designer, Healthcare
Planner, Landscape Architect
Value:: 2.5m
Status: Completed January 2002

From Brief to Building - the process.

Places to pause along the corridor.
A calm and nurturing garden.
Highcroft Hospital, Birmingham, UK

We wanted to create a spacious, flexible living area where various activities could take place at
the same time. To achieve this, while providing intimate spaces for smaller groups of patients,
we developed a series of bespoke room dividers. These were designed to incorporate special
cabinets to safely display individual artwork, objects of interest, and provide storage, helping
to personalise the space while creating a stimulating patient environment.

BRINGING VALUE

We worked closely with an artist and the end users to create a bespoke interior design that was both
reassuring and stimulating for a sensitive patient group, picking up themes of nature taken from the
nearby Northumbrian countryside. Even the furniture was specially designed, with careful selection
of cleanable fabrics and colours, to help move away from a feeling of institution yet provide the
required functionality of a hospital environment - Ferndene, Children and Young Peoples Centre,
Northumberland, UK

ABOUT US ...
Specialists in the design and planning for Healthcare environments, Medical
Architecture are an award-winning design practice which delivers intelligent
cohesive facilities across the globe. Founded in 1991, our practice focuses
specifically on the Healthcare sector, bridging the gap between policy, vision
and function. Our design ethos is underpinned by research and evaluation of
lessons learnt and the adoption of innovation in construction methods. Our
buildings are flexible, responsive and adaptable to future needs of clinical
standards thus enhancing the care path of patients (and staff efficiency).
With a deep-set understanding of the Healthcare sector and models of care,
we consult and advise professional bodies at early stages of development to
ensure our buildings are truly immersive and relative to the built environment
and the communities they serve.
Operating from offices in London, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sydney, we are
committed to the provision of innovative healthcare buildings that enhance
the delivery of care across a wide range of sectors within the healthcare
spectrum. With an international benchmarking knowledge of recent projects
and continuous exchange of the latest thinking in healthcare environments, in
an established network of international specialists, conferences and industry
forums, we are able to improve outcomes through research and the application
of evidence based design. We are conversant with current international health
building standards and assist in the preparation of technical guidance in the
United Kingdom. Our award-winning projects achieve excellent standards in
design through an informed approach that combines theory and practice.

Integrating art within the building to create a uplifting and

reassuring environment. Ferndene, Children and Young
Peoples Centre, Northumberland, UK

OUR OFFER

Understanding the needs of the people we design for is critical to the success
of design and delivery of high class care facility. Our approach to every project
is to engage with all stakeholders to bring the absolute needs of end-user to
the forefront of decision making, ensuring that delivery of the facility provides a
high level of care for patients and a sound working environment for clinical staff.
Key to this we provide:

Leadership in healthcare planning, design and evaluation to bring knowledge and

experience to benefit your project.
Evidence-based design, targeted at the therapeutic environment for patient well-being.
This will contribute to your improved healthcare outcomes.
Integrated design from strategic planning through to architecture, landscape and
interior design, allowing you to benefit from fully co-ordinated delivery from business
plan to fit-out.
International experience that helps you to benchmark your project against the best
world-class standards and recent best practice.
Purposeful and attractive design that supports a high quality, low stress environment,
contributing to the recruitment and retention of your valuable staff.
Collaborative teamwork with clients, contractors and specialist consultants,
demonstrating this through an increasing portfolio of valued, longstanding, partners.
Sustainable environments that are flexible and adaptable to changing requirements
and economic to run, to deliver you long term value of your investment.
Award-winning design that delivers imaginative and innovative buildings,
communicating your professional ethos and reflecting the best of your organisations
culture.

Courtyard providing therapeutic spaces for

overall wellbeing. Bamburgh Clinic, St Nicholas
Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

DESIGN LEADERS
We recognise that the implementation and delivery of a successful Dementia
Care facility requires a high level of knowledge and experience, skill and
insight, as well as technical capability, commitment and a pragmatic team to
work alongside stakeholders. Our team of healthcare specialists bring design
flair, know-how and understanding of the steps necessary to gain stakeholder
endorsement, statutory approval and to take the building
through procurement, in delivering a world class facility.
With acute understanding of the challenges faced by the onset and
development of Dementia, our design leaders, Raechal Ferguson and
Lianne Knotts provide high level inspiration and innovation underpinned
by evidence- based research. Lianne has spoken at a number of high profile
industry events regarding her work at Ferndene and, more recently, regarding
her peer review role on the Monkwearmouth Dementia Care Centre project.

Raechal Ferguson
Senior Director

Lianne Knotts RIBA

Associate Director

Raechal has a particular interest in applying model

of care briefs into a cohesive design solution to
enhance the recovery care path of patients and
creating effective working environments for staff.
With over 20 years of experience in healthcare
design Raechal has a deep set understanding of the
impact design has on healthcare environments.
She encourages an inclusive approach with
all stakeholders and promotes a collaborative
consultation process to inform the design process.
With a specialism in mental health and the ability
to cite validated exemplars and benchmarking
data she can add value in delivering models of care
internationally.

Lianne has a high level of expertise in the

healthcare sector, specialising in the design of
mental health facilities across the UK and providing
health planning and user consultation expertise
internationally. In the vast spectrum of mental
health, Lianne continues to apply evidence-based
research to understand the intricacies affecting each
specialism within the sector, providing bespoke
approaches to inform design concept and details;
creating environments that enhance care through
sustainable and flexible design.

She is both strategic and effective in leadership,

which is reflective in her track record of delivering
a range projects that include analytical feasibility
work, refurbishments within existing facilities and
completed new build development. A spearhead
for the adoption of BIM and Revit at Medical
Architecture, Raechal continues to drive integrated
project delivery methods through work sharing
technologies.

With a successful track record of delivering a

number of high quality projects from inception to
completion, Lianne most recently delivered the
multi award-winning Ferndene, Children and Young
Peoples Centre, in Northumberland; a scheme that
required extensive collaborative working to create
a bespoke environment, appropriate to the needs
of the young patient group without compromising
safety and security.

We designed the new hospital to resemble a small village, in order to create an intimate,
reassuring scale for the more vulnerable patients. Inpatient buildings are organised around a
shared garden providing therapeutic landscape-based activities. This has created not only a
place of refuge and healing but a positive focal point for the whole facility.

ACCOLADES AND AWARDS

2013

AfH Gold Award Healthcare - Glenside Health Services

RIBA/Guild of Architectural Ironmongery Specification Awards: Public Health
Buildings - Ferndene, High Commendation
BREEAM Award: Edge Lane

2012

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Staff Awards: Service Users and Carers
Involvement - Ferndene
Considerate Contractors Award: Bronze - Ferndene
Constructing Excellence National Awards: Integration and Collaborative
Working - Ferndene
Health Service Journal: Good Corporate Citizenship - Ferndene
INCA Awards, Non-Residential - Ferndene
Building Better Healthcare Awards:
Specialist Services Design - Ferndene
Best Use of the Arts - Ferndene
Best Interior Design - Ferndene
Best Project Team - Ferndene
Constructing Excellence North East Awards:
Integration & Collaborative Working - Ferndene
Client of the Year - Ferndene
Project of the Year - Ferndene
The Legacy Award: Sustainability - Highly Commended, Ferndene
Society of British Interior Design Awards: Best Innovation - Ferndene
RIBA Award: Client of the Year - Roseberry Park
RIBA Award: Roseberry Park
D&H International Academy Awards: International Mental Health Design Ferndene

2011

RIBA Northern Network Awards: Gold Award

Hadrian Award - North East Project of the Year, Roseberry Park
D&H International Academy Awards: International Mental Health, High
Commended - Rose Lodge
Future Health Project - High Commendation, Glenside
GIA & RIBA Architectural Ironmongery Specifications Awards:
Winner of Winners -Rose Lodge
Public Health Building - Rose Lodge

2010

Building Better Healthcare:

Best Social Care Design - Rose Lodge
Best Mental Health Design, Highly Commended, Roseberry Park
D&H International Academy:
Mental Health Project - Wandsworth Recovery Centre
Mental Health Project - Highly Commended, Roseberry Park

2009

Building Better Healthcare:

Best Project Team - Wandsworth Recovery Centre
Best Mental Health Design - Highly Commended, Wandsworth Recovery
Centre

2008

RIBA National and International Awards: North East England Regional Bamburgh Clinic

2007

Building Better Healthcare Award: Best Future Design - Barnstaple, Hyper

Modern Hospital
Considerate Constructors: National Award Winner - Silver, P21 with Laing
ORourke
Green Apple Awards: Built Environment Bronze -Bamburgh Clinic
Building Design: Health Building Architect of the Year - Highly Commended,
The Treatment Centre, Kidderminster
Building Better Healthcare:
Best External Space - Bamburgh Clinic
Best Mental Health Design - Bamburgh Clinic
Best Patient Environment - Bamburgh Clinic

2006

2004
2002
1996
1995

Building Better Healthcare: Best Designed Hospital - Highly Commended,

The Treatment Centre, Kidderminster
Building Better Healthcare: Best Designed Mental Health Hospital - Highly
Commended - Highcroft Hospital
Aneiron Bevan Award :Small Heath Health Centre, Birmingham Art at Work
Albany Lodge, St. Albans
Civic Trust Award: Albany Lodge - St. Albans

www.medicalarchitecture.com

45 Gee Street
London EC1V 3RS
United Kingdom

25 Collingwood Street
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1JE
United Kingdom

T. +44 (0)20 7490 1904

E. london@medicalarchitecture.com

T. +44 (0) 191 269 1180

E. newcastle@medicalarchitecture.com