The brief
The plan was to create an appropriate and attractive setting for a new private hospital, within the countryside close to the city of Nottingham and immediately adjacent to a working airfield. The existing site was a combination of open ground and derelict warehousing with the proposals creating a single building unit, car parking, landscaped gardens and other external landscaping to the boundaries of the site.
Creating a strong landscape setting within the existing flat and open landscape was important while a sense of privacy and intimacy was required for the garden areas where staff and patients could enjoy some tranquillity and relaxation.
The entrance to the hospital required a hard–landscaped area that could accommodate a variety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic while remaining attractive and being clearly identifiable as the single entrance into the hospital site.
The main plaza and access from the car park towards the entrance were identified as areas requiring a quality paving product. The initial concepts and colours for the architecture of the building suggested a Neland Clay paviour might work well with the scheme. Hardscape helped source a variety of suitable materials for both pedestrian and vehicular use. This resulted in a design which used alternative materials to the clay but with the same aesthetic in order to complement the building and create a high–quality entrance plaza to the development.
Materials used
Hardscape helped source a variety of suitable materials for both pedestrian and vehicular use resulting in a design which used alternative materials to the initial clay paviour intention but with similar aesthetics in order to complement the building and create a high–quality entrance plaza to the development.
A mixed palette comprising of Inish Curragh Gold aged/tumbled, Mellifont Natural Antiqued, Pembroke Slate concrete paving and Alpendurada granite setts was finally chosen to fulfil all practical and design aspirations.
Conclusions
The project maintained a level of quality throughout the build with the landscape areas overcoming the usual challenges of delivery and construction on a phased and extremely busy construction site which were ultimately completed to a high standard.
The result has proved to be a great example of a new-build hospital scheme that has a series of high–quality landscaped areas both at the entrance to the development but also within the grounds of the site. Staff, patients and visitors now use these areas for relaxation, recuperation and as an alternative space to the consulting spaces within the hospital.
