50 PROJECT REPORT: HEALTHCARE BUILDINGS
served or obsolete,” explains the architect. The vision was to bring residential services together into a more “sustainable and focused campus,” and create a building that offered people a modern and comfortable environment to rebuild and develop key life skills, increase opportunities, and take greater control of their lives.
The vision was to bring residential services together into a more “sustainable and focused campus”
This also enabled a tract of land to be released for sale which, combined with the support of private donors and QEF’s fundraising activities, helped to fund the construction project.
Design approach
When Rushton first visited this site, he was struck by “its balance of convenience – in terms of the local amenities, transport links, and proximity to Leatherhead – with the sense that you were in among nature and connected to it.” He continues: “We really tried to carry that through the design. Complementing and making the most of the natural setting was a key driver in the development, from configuring the building itself all the way through to the materials, textures and the colours employed.”
Now standing two storeys high, the Y-
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shaped centre is intended to embody this ideal – being focused around the aforementioned landscaped quad, which allows the building to “foster a connection with the natural environment and improve the wellbeing of the residents.” Constructed as a steel framed
superstructure on concrete pile foundations, the light gauge steel external walls are clad in a material palette of brick, clay tiles and timber cladding – all specified to reflect the local vernacular. Alongside these materials is copious glazing, which achieves further connection to the outside world. This combination of local materials helps the building to “harmonise with its surroundings,” albeit articulated and detailed in a “more contemporary way.” “The idea was to create an environment that promotes a sense of familiarity among the residents,” Rushton explains, “they are materials which will be known to residents from surrounding buildings.” He continues: “We selected a light grey blended brick, which contained quite a bit of variation; that’s used on the gable elevations with a red/orange clay tile used on the roofs of the residential wings, providing a warmth and a contrast to the grey brick.” The tone of the latter references
ADF JANUARY 2020
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