Nightingale Associates and Tribal win £840m 'super hospital' contract

Practice defies recession with largest ever win in redevelopment of Glasgow’s Southern General hospital

[UKPRwire, Fri Nov 06 2009] Nightingale Associates, as part of the Brookfield Constructions UK consortium, has today been announced as the practice that will design the £840 million super hospital’ in Glasgow city centre. The New South Glasgow Hospital Campus will not only be the largest contract won in the practice’s twenty year history, but will also be one of the largest hospitals ever commissioned to be built in the UK.

The practice, along with its health planners, Tribal, beat two other shortlisted teams to win the contract; Laing O’Rourke with Keppie Architects and Balfour Beatty with BDP Architects.

The new complex, for which outline planning permission has already been secured, will span 170,000msq and will be one of the largest “health campuses” in Europe. It will centralise acute services currently provided by three different hospitals and will comprise of a 1,100-bed adult hospital; 240-bed children’s hospital; laboratory facilities and support accommodation. Within these facilities, the development will contain many new features including a new cancer hospital; cardiothoracic service and cardiology unit; two maternity units; two new ambulatory care hospitals, state-of-the-art screening laboratory and an A&E department.

Neil Murphy, Principal of the London studio, said:
“This is an extremely significant opportunity for Nightingale Associates. Not only for the size of the contract, but also because it marks another very significant step forward for us into the Scottish healthcare market. We are extremely excited at this news and very much looking forward to working with Brookfield Construction and the Board over the coming years.”

The new South Glasgow Hospital will form a large part of a period of dramatic change for client, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (the Board). Over the past ten years, it has been developing its Acute Services Review, which will modernise and revolutionise acute adult and children’s health services in Glasgow. The contract will be completed in four phases, and will be a complete transformation of the Board’s existing facilities. It will be funded by public capital.

The Board requires the design to reflect the importance of the project on a whole. It needs to be aesthetically stimulating and innovative, as well as having a positive impact on the city’s skyline, and create a welcoming and interesting first impression. The new buildings, which need to display the highest standards in modern design, have the potential to become iconic landmarks to the city of Glasgow, as well as setting new and exciting benchmarks in healthcare in general. The building also needs to be sympathetic to the rich history of the city, compatible with the local environment and not appearing out-of-scale within the community, whilst also being future-proof and adaptable to any changes.

Neil continued: “One of the main design features is the integration of the adult and the children’s hospitals. While each are separate buildings with their own unique identities, there are many interlinking features that will create a strong relationship between the two. Internally and externally, the use of colour will play a major role in this. Colour and texture will be used to define different areas and functions within the complex and to create appropriate identities. Natural light will be maximised where possible and attention will be given to providing pleasing views both inside the building and out. The use of colour and other design solutions will also be used for way-finding purposes, allowing users to self-navigate with ease throughout the buildings’ many functions.”

The project will also be regarded, on a wider scale, as a catalyst for further economic and social regeneration, contributing to creating higher aspirations for development in the local area. Public transport links, easy access to local amenities and pedestrian routes & links will be just some of the benefits the new complex will bring. Landscaping, which will also be an integral part of the overall design, will produce many attractive public spaces, “knitting” the complex into its surroundings.

Sustainability will also be a key element of the design, with particular low carbon emissions requirements set out by the Board. It is also essential that the building achieves a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating.

Craig Dixon, Director of Consulting at Tribal, said:

“Tribal is delighted that it's health planning team will be working with the Brookfield consortium to deliver this landmark hospital project.

“This scheme is vital for the people of Glasgow and will be central to reconfiguring health services to provide new and improved health facilities for the future.”

As part of the bidding process, the Board used the competitive dialogue procedure to judge each team on certain technical and commercial matters. The design stage is now expected to start within the coming weeks, with construction of the first phase – the adults and children’s hospitals – due to start onsite in November 2010.

The project will then reach final completion of all stages in 2015.

-Ends-
Notes to editor:
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 six 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.
Media contacts
Jessica Tomlin: jessica.tomlin@nightingaleassociates.com or 020 7079 9900 or 07775 574755
Jenny Williams: jenny.williams@nightingaleassociates.com or 020 7079 9900

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