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The Centre for Health Science will become a leading research and training resource that will help to transform healthcare development and teaching in the Highland region by bringing together a number of healthcare research institutions under one roof. Keppie, acting as lead consultants within the design team, delivered the first phase of the new Centre on time and on budget. Phase 1, which was taken to scheme design by Bennetts Associates, was passed to Keppie for detailed design and implementation during the second half of 2005, ensuring successful completion by autumn 2006. The centre provides a mix of open-plan and cellular office accommodation, lecture theatres, classrooms, seminar rooms and offices all of which will support multi-disciplinary research and postgraduate training. A new base is provided for Stirling University’s Department of Nursing and Midwifery, along with a healthcare library and new office space for NHS Education for Scotland (NES). Phases 2 and 3 of the project continue with the original design concepts from Bennetts Associates and have been taken by Keppie from scheme design and concept design through full planning to site start early in 2007. Phases 2 and 3 are due for completion in the summer of 2008, and will accommodate an NHS primary care Dental Institute, a Clinical Skills Centre, a Centre for Rural Health and a new Diabetes Institute. The design concept for phase one was a single building with shared facilities that uses a limited palette of materials to create a sense of unity among the various spaces. Construction is over two and three-storeys with aluminium glazing and pre-patinated copper, terracotta and acantha rain screen cladding. A sustainable lighting and ventilation scheme uses light pipes to ventilate and light internal rooms, while a series of glazed partitions allows light to penetrate through the building. Keppie worked closely with tenants to ensure that the accommodation matches their needs and that the internal spaces could be adapted for future use by a variety of different stakeholders. Andrew Morton, Divisional Director, who led the Keppie team, says: “Working with colleagues we created an environment in which healthcare stakeholders can successfully provide a modern service while benefiting from the links created by working in a unified building. The Centre for Health Science combines education and healthcare provision with research and development and is one of the most important projects of its kind ever undertaken in the Highlands and will become an increasingly valuable resource for Inverness and the Highland region.” The project has been funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). HIE identified the healthcare and medical-related science sector as one of the most important to the region, with significant growth potential to drive forward a knowledge-based regional economy employing highly qualified and well-paid people. |
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