HOK has been named lead architect for the new Papworth Hospital, a state-of-the-art cardiothoracic facility on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. HOK’s holistic design concept embraces the Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s ambition to thrive as a center of excellence in cardiothoracic services for the East of England.
The new 310-bed hospital will welcome the community with a striking architectural form that reflects the park-like setting. By providing patients and family with a comforting, easy-to-navigate environment, the design helps reduce stress and anxiety. Meeting places for patients, family and staff in the main atrium, gardens and restaurant will enhance communication and collaboration across the campus.
A new parkland setting surrounding the building will feature open green spaces organized around a pond connecting patients, family and staff to nature and supporting the healing process.
The layout of the new hospital supports the Trust’s model of care by creating discrete zones for ambulatory or outpatient care, emergency services, and diagnostic and treatment functions. The clear separation of these areas creates an environment that is easy to navigate while streamlining admissions and enabling efficient patient transfers.
HOK will collaborate with Skanska to deliver the project, which is scheduled to open in 2017. Skanska is the preferred bidder under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract, which includes design, build, finance, operations and maintenance responsibilities.
Pretty amazing project, right? Hopefully we can see more of these coming in the near future – hospitals are a part of any community and most of them need to be renewed in order to keep the service and functionality up and running.
Hope you have a wonderful day – weekend is almost here so make sure you enjoy it!
