INTERVIEW


projects next door as well – they were doing the enabling work of relocating kitchens out of the site. So, the collaboration was really close. If we uncovered anything on site that we didn’t know about, we could respond quickly and efficiently and change the design to fit the site.


What lessons did you take out of this? Did you learn anything to help you grow as a business? SB: One of the lessons is that actually you can refurbish some of these [sites]. The hospital is now 45 years old, but the core structure has to remain – there isn’t enough investment to build a new hospital. So you have to find ways to effectively reuse that existing estate, and you can’t keep adding things onto the edge of it because you run out of space – there are constraints on that. So it’s about what you can take off the site so you can maximise use for clinical space. There are some real challenges with what we’re seeing


with the sustainability agenda and Net Zero. The air handling units, the engineering systems that go into a new hospital, the digital control systems – [they] take up a lot more space. There’s a lot more of it than the hospital was designed to accommodate. So how you accommodate those additional engineering systems in a sensible way and in a way that can be accessed is a core part of the thinking when you’re designing these retrofit solutions. Part of the master plan is planning where the air source heat pumps are going to go, where the larger air handling unit is going to go as part of those future development strategies. So, there are some really valuable lessons for how you effectively reuse that hospital estate, because most of our existing NHS estate – they’re older hospitals.


What was your approach on long-term sustainability? SB: It’s ‘sustainability’ in the broadest sense. How do you create a sustainable hospital? By thinking about what that hospital is going to look like in 25 years’ time and making sure that everything you do moves towards that endgame. But there are also things like moving the kitchens off-site to a commercial location. They’re high energy use facilities and you can provide new systems because you’ve got more space, you’ve got more flexibility [off-site] rather than being squeezed into the bowels of the hospital, which is the reality of what was there already. So you can have better logistic solutions, you can have an optimised solution for catering or for pathology by moving that off- site rather than constraining it in the existing building. So, I think of sustainability in those terms. We’re not building [something] new – we’re making as much use as we can of those existing facilities.


So, following this recognition, what’s next for your practice? SB: We’ve got three younger colleagues within our studio that are currently going through the apprentice process. For me, as someone who is a specialist in healthcare – I’ve worked in healthcare for a long time – it’s not always the most glamorous sector to work in. And to see younger colleagues wanting to work in healthcare and getting the value of engaging with clinicians, engaging with clients and seeing the benefit that work does is brilliant. And the more we can do to bring that next generation into working in healthcare – I think that’s so important. We do all sectors, but for us, healthcare is a really big part of our business, and we continue to work with local clients. The value of embedding ourselves with clients and working with them long-term is really important.


That’s absolutely fantastic. And Jacob – being an


apprentice and winning this award, being a part of the team, that must feel really good – what an achievement. JR: It’s been really rewarding. This project has been my apprenticeship journey. When I started my apprenticeship, I started working on this project and have been working on it ever since. And now, completing the apprenticeship and looking back, it was a point of professional development.


Finally, what can you share with others in your sector? JR: Looking again from the design development of projects like this, [it is important to] challenge what is seen as ‘the norm’. So, with this project, we didn’t have a lot of natural light. We had only one roof light, one high level window. So we looked at how we can use colours to enhance spaces and make the people that work there and come there feel good, rather than just using the standard white and grey palette of clinical spaces. I think challenging norms and what is seen as the default is important on projects like this. SB: I’ll just reiterate the point I made earlier – for us, it’s about having a long-term plan and making sure you’re building to that long-term strategy. But it’s also about embracing refurbishment and retrofit as a way of delivering high quality healthcare facilities in a cost effective and a sustainable way.


It’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you and congratulations again on your award.


Jakub Raspl (centre), architectural assistant at Stride Treglown was joined by Daniel van Luttmer, Director (Healthcare), on stage to receive the Award from Michael Portillo.


The collaboration continued throughout the process. When the contractor joined early, they knew the site, they knew the hospital and the client, so they were able to advise us on how to build it. If we uncovered anything on site that we didn’t know about, we could respond quickly and efficiently and change the design to fit the site.


April 2026 Health Estate Journal 25


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