Peterborough City Care Centre, Cavell Centre, England Healthcare Building News, Property

Peterborough City Care Centre : Cavell Centre

Peterborough Development by Nightingale Associates in England, UK

21 May 2009

Peterborough City Care Centre Building

Design: Nightingale Associates

Second phase of £335million ‘super hospital’ opened to public

Important milestone for major PFI hospital in Peterborough, as new City Care Centre and Cavell Centre are completed.

The £335m Greater Peterborough Health Investment Plan, designed by healthcare architects Nightingale Associates and Tribal Healthcare planners, has reached a second major milestone with the completion of its City Care Centre and Cavell Centre (mental health unit). The state-of-the-art new facilities have been handed over to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) opened to the public on May 18th.

The new City Care Centre has been built on the Peterborough District Hospital site off Thorpe Road in Peterborough’s city centre. The two-storey primary care health centre contains a wide range of departments including minor illnesses and minor injuries, outpatients, imaging, children’s development unit, CAMHS and respite on the ground floor and intermediate care, therapy and administration on its first floor.

Key features of the building are the sweeping rendered curved blocks with accentuating timber pressurised laminate panels, coloured rendered panels, and overhanging roofs. These sweeping blocks and the central linear element enclose four tranquil landscaped courtyards. A protruding rotunda signifies the main entrance, which leads directly into a double-height concourse area lit by two large rooflights and glazed curtain walling. The main departments are accessed from this central concourse and a feature staircase provides access to a balcony refectory area and first floor departments.

Departments within the building have been designed to maximise daylight and views onto landscaped gardens and courtyards. The building aims to become a landmark feature for Peterborough and a reflection of CPFT’s aspirations to provide the best healthcare facilities for the community.

The 102-bed Cavell Centre, located on the existing Edith Cavell Hospital site, opened its first phase to the public last November. Now fully complete, the new purpose-built unit contains single en-suite bedrooms, adult acute psychiatric wards, psychiatric intensive care units, older people’s mental health facilities, and a specialist service for people with learning disabilities. It also houses restaurant-style dining facilities for patients, staff and visitors, a fitness and recreational centre, an information centre and landscaped gardens.

The single-storey buildings have been designed as a series of linked pavilions, set within landscaped gardens and each with their own architectural identity. The curved form of the adult inpatients and older people’s wards eliminate long corridors and add to the ‘hotel’ and patient-led feel of the units. The choice of materials, both externally and internally, enhances the patient’s environment.

Nicola Hewes, Nightingale Associates’ Project Director, said:
“We believe that we have realised our concept design and through a close working relationship both with the Trust and the contractor, Brookfield Construction Ltd., we have delivered buildings that are both architecturally pleasing and provide high-quality clinical accommodation.”
The new units are part of the 612-bed PFI hospital complex, which will be one of the NHS’s largest PFI projects to date, as well as being one of Nightingale Associates’ largest-ever contracts of its kind.

Peterborough City Care Centre and Cavell Centre information from Nightingale Associates

Nightingale Associates

Address: City Care Centre, Thorpe Rd, Peterborough PE3 6DB, UK
Phone: +44 1733 847000

New English Architecture

Contemporary Architecture in England

English Architecture Designs – chronological list

Cambridgeshire Architecture – Selection

American Air Museum, Duxford
Foster + Partners

photograph : Nigel Young
American Air Museum – Stirling Prize Winner 1998

Black House, Kingdon Avenue, Prickwillow
Mole Architects

photo : John Donat
Black House

Creative Exchange, St Neots
5th Studio

photograph : Tim Soar
Creative Exchange

Nightingale Associates

About Nightingale Associates

Nightingale Associates is a leading practice serving the public sector. It specialises in the fields of health, education and science.

Nightingale Associates is part of the Tribal Group plc

It has eight offices in the UK, as well as one office in Cape Town, South Africa. In September 2008, it also launched an independent subsidiary company, Nightingale Architects (SA) pty Ltd, in Cape Town.

Nightingale Associates’ commitment to innovation and research has placed it at the forefront of design developments in areas such as modern learning environments, mental healthcare, environmental sustainability and laboratory design.

In addition to Nightingale Associates’ links with regulatory bodies, research institutes and universities, its founder, Mike Nightingale, is a leading advocate of design excellence and is the author of Better by Design – The first Government-backed guide aimed at enhancing the design quality of healthcare buildings.

Testament to Nightingale Associates’ dedication to architectural quality is its ability to win design awards, year after year.

Tribal Group

About Tribal’s health planning team

Tribal’s health planning and facilities management team work on planning, building and servicing health facilities, supporting the NHS, private hospitals, construction companies and international clients.

About Tribal Group

Tribal Group offers a range of consulting, support and delivery services focused on improving the delivery of public services.

We work in partnership with over 2,500 public service organisations, including schools, colleges and universities; the NHS and primary care trusts; local authorities and housing associations; central government departments and government agencies; and third sector organisations.

We also operate internationally and have worked in over 60 countries in the last five years.