Architecture

Grampian Health Village

Brief

As part of the NHS Framework for new healthcare facilities, Keppie was a member of the bidding consortium led by Laing O'Rourke to respond to the requirements of NHS Grampian for a Community Health Village.  The site for the development is a complex urban area on the edge of Aberdeen town centre.  Its relatively central location reflects the drive towards more community orientated services as an alternative to purely acute care.

Response

We believe that a village environment works best when there is a clear and understood hierarchy to the public spaces. Allied to this is a sense of coherence created by the relationship of its physical elements.  Nodes, edges, paths, districts and landmarks all work in harmony to create a distinct sense of place. Our principal challenge in creating this environment in an inner city context lay in the physical severance created by East Street North.

Our early analysis of the context suggested that a formal edge to East Street North be created.  This edge would have a scale and rhythm of form that is consistent with an important landmark civic building.  The contextual response had to be reinforced by the correct interpretation of the clinical model.  Some of the departments in this facility required a level of sensitivity in terms of their visibility.  The internal space between the buildings supported the idea of discretion in the entrances to specific departments whilst retaining the village feel desired by NHS Grampian.

Outcome

Our design proposed a building of four distinct parts with the refurbished Granary building forming the centrepiece.  The new forms wrapped around the existing building with an open public space containing bridge links at various levels connecting the different parts. The new buildings were part of a carefully considered phasing strategy that incorporated the new Health Village facilities, a major formal public space, new car parking proposals and a complimentary social housing component.

Team