The Arthur Rank Hospice has opened to patients after work has been completed on the £10.5 million state-of-the-art 24-bed facility for the Cambridge based end-of-life care charity. The building was designed by LSI Architects and will serve families across the county and aims to address the regional demand for complex end of life care.
The 4,000m2 site is split across four buildings and houses a commercial kitchen, day facilities and an education centre to enable the hospice to train other healthcare professionals in good end-of-life-care.
The new hospice, built by Barnes Construction, also doubles the number of beds available at the current facility by 16 single rooms with en-suite facilities and two, four bedded bays which can be adapted into two single rooms when required.
By 2025 it is estimated that the number of people who will have dementia in the UK will have reached 1 million. As the aging population continues to increase, creating environments suitable for people suffering with dementia and other complex care needs is a major consideration which the design of the hospice reflects.
'The new hospice is light, airy and modern. We were hoping to get a hospice which would raise people’s spirits and I believe LSI has definitely achieved this.,' said Dr Lynn Morgan, CEO of the charity. 'The lead architect, Louise Knights, worked closely with all of our staff to ensure that the hospice really meets our needs and will function very well.'
LSI Architects were greatly influenced and inspired by the passion and reputation of the Hospice, the determination of the fundraising team and the caring nature of the staff and volunteers.
'User group engagement has a big influence on how the building flows and how the spaces come together, and it’s important to get this right early on in the scheme,' explained Louise Knights, Associate at LSI Architects.
'Internally the bedrooms will open into a large, double height communal space that will give patients, visitors and family an opportunity to come together. The design of the hospice meets the standards of a hospital without feeling like one.
'Attention to detail on external bedroom doors ensures that beds can be moved into a covered area outside the bedrooms/lounge spaces. Every patient has a direct link to the outside, which is essential to ensure that there are as many options for where patients can choose to spend their time. Outside space is as important as the inside space.
Colour has been used outside the bedroom spaces, which helps patients and family locate bedrooms and gives each bedroom an identity.
Although not a requirement, the project has been BIM enabled and its use has benefited the project in terms of engaging with all stakeholders, communication and co-ordination on site.
