KJA and O’Connell Mahon Architects were jointly appointed to design a new 96 bed ward block which is being provided in a new 4 storey extension above the recently completed Emergency and Renal department extension, thereby maximising the potential of the site as envisaged in the Protective Development Control Plan for the Campus. The wards are provided in an ‘L’ shaped ‘race track’ plan that wrap around the large existing internal courtyard and provide 24 fully en suite single rooms at each of the new levels.

The project is being realised in a single phase and has extensive interfaces with the existing hospital both in terms of the architectural impacts on the existing facades and the tie ins required for building services. The Emergency and Renal Departments must remain live throughout the works as must the level 2 plantroom which must also be extended to provided plant equipment serving the new wards. The extension directly abuts the Critical Care block which is to the south and which must also remain fully operational throughout. 

The design of the building develops the new urban edge for the UHL campus and is realised in a new glazed cladding system incorporating triangular projecting bays which provide an appropriate scale and modulation to the design.