Health & Wellbeing

New South Glasgow Hospitals

Brief

The requirement for a major acute hospital serving South Glasgow had been established many years before this project bid began. Our aspirations for the New South Glasgow Hospitals were based on creating environments that stand out in modern hospital design because they reinforce the importance of 'place-making' to give the whole building a depth and level of design missing in many hospitals. The institutional association will be almost completely removed and the civic responsibility of the building will emerge, stimulating the entire local context.

Response

Our design proposed an urban 'city block' where order, connection and hierarchy are principal characteristics. The hospital should be 'of Glasgow'; a resolutely Glaswegian building that not only understands its context, history and traditions but uses them as a generator for the same internal geometric discipline. The clinical model followed that previously established by the exemplar design but sought to improve on a number of areas where it appeared to compromise the briefed goals and aspirations for a clear and logical wayfinding strategy.

Outcome

All clinical functions, out-patient facilities, accident and emergency, high dependency department, the children's hospital and retail facilities were located within the low rise podium element, routing the new urban city block within the hospital campus framework. The perimeter of this city block varies in height between two to four stories and presents a scale relevant to the context of the surrounding campus environment.

As modern living aspires to an elevated position, to command a view and embrace light and space, so does that of the patient environment. The adult hospital wards were grouped above the clinical and podium functions to take full advantage of these life affirming opportunities, looking down on an extended natural landscape through the use of sedum roofs to the podium and further to the south west districts of Glasgow.

Team