Work to create a centre supporting families through grief and bereavement has been completed at a Lancashire hospice.
The new ‘Forget Me Not’ centre at St John’s Hospice in Lancaster has been designed by architecture, design, and masterplanning practice Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP).
The specialist centre in the grounds of the hospice will be a place that offers whole family support: the most-effective type of therapy previously not available free of charge in the area.
St John’s Hospice has been providing palliative care for a wide range of life-shortening conditions in North Lancashire, the South Lakes, and parts of North Yorkshire since 1986.
And FWP was commissioned to deliver a place that would offer a safe, warm, and welcoming environment for families and individuals to have support in a space away from home and the main hospice building.
The centre has been designed to maximise natural light and create calm, friendly spaces
Wyre-based Huck Construction carried out the building work, which saw a ‘lodge’ building in Slyne Road demolished to make way for the modern, purpose-built, facility with striking larch cladding.
The new centre has quiet rooms, breakout spaces, open spaces for group and family activities, mixed-use areas, a kitchen, and offices.
There are also two garden spaces, including a sensory garden providing reflective spaces where young children and teenagers can be immersed in the scents, textures, and colours of plants and related elements.
Neil Ainsworth FWP partner and architect on the project, said: “The Forget Me Not centre will allow the hospice to provide a wide range of support services for the community.
“It is a very-special building, a beacon of hope that will make a real difference to people’s lives.
“Within the design we have used natural lighting wherever possible and have worked to create calm and friendly spaces throughout. The result is a homely feel, with strong interplay between the inside and outside spaces.”
The project to build the centre began last year, following a donation from Nick and Barbara Scholes, who have been supporting the charity for many years.