ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Flagship NHP project sees vision become reality
Laura Carrara-Cagni and Edward Williams, the founding directors of architectural practice, Cagni Williams, discuss the thinking and architectural / design expertise that have combined to create what is said to be one of Europe’s most advanced hospitals, in Smethwick near Birmingham, explaining how the ‘vision’ for the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital was turned into reality.
The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) in Smethwick in the West Midlands stands as a testament to the transformative power of architecture, not only as a healthcare facility, but as a revitalising force within its community. As architects, HKS, Cagni Williams, and Sonnemann Toon, began this journey a decade ago, stepping onto a site that had seen better days – a closed Unipart warehouse stood on the site of one of the first GKN car part factories. Surrounded by a neighbourhood facing economic hardships, declining urban quality, and some of the UK’s poorest health outcomes, MMUH was designed to offer more than clinical services; it was conceived as a modern hub to foster health, community, and regeneration in Sandwell, West Birmingham.
One of Europe’s most advanced hospitals Today, MMUH is one of Europe’s most advanced hospitals, pioneering innovative design, digital technologies, and green spaces. This flagship project, part of the UK’s New Hospital Programme (NHP), sets a new standard for clinical healthcare design, as well as being a community regeneration catalyst. The hospital provides emergency department, maternity, children’s, and adult acute inpatient services in an environment that is purpose- built for clinical teams to work together. The building is a large area of accommodation, with approximately 80,000 m2 50,000 m2
of clinical space, and of associated parking, built on a 16.7 acre
site. Analysis of the brief produced a natural stacking of functions, with wards at the top, clinical areas in the middle, and the car park at the bottom, a unique and efficient arrangement for a building of this type. A clear and logical stacking of floors and functions maximises usable floor area, provides direct patterns of use, achieves desired clinical adjacencies internally, and satisfies maximum clinical travel distance requirements. By breaking down the functions into separate but related parts, with significant set-backs at levels 2 and 5, we reduced the scale and massing of the building so that a suitable human scale is achieved. We also used the fall across the site of approximately 7 m to embed the lower parts of the building within the slope, thus further reducing its perceived mass and height. This provides a fully covered car park, providing safe access for staff and patients, and a drop-off for taxis, buses, and patient transport. In addition, the internal wayfinding via well-designed spaces allow visitors to navigate without the need for maps. This can be achieved by blending architecture, medical planning, interior design, and environmental graphics. We developed an
efficient design with future-proofing in mind, based on a 7.8 x 7.8 m grid without internal shear walls, which allows for changes and updates without major disruptions or excessive costs in the future. Together, we put together an exhaustively researched ‘Design Standards Review’ report challenging previous NHS guidance, and this helped the scheme gain the support of the Trust Development Authority.
Future-proof and flexible design A foundational aspect of MMUH’s architecture is its flexibility – a core consideration that is vital to ensure that the hospital remains adaptable to evolving healthcare needs. The use of external cross-bracing eliminated the need for internal shear concrete walls, creating open-plan floors so that partitions can be placed where needed across all levels. This approach allows for a modular, adaptable layout that seamlessly spans parking, clinical zones, and wards without costly transfer structures.
The project team The project is a result of close collaboration between:
n Client: Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.
n Architects: HKS, Cagni Williams, and Sonnemann Toon.
n MEP: Aecom/Hulley & Kirkwood. n Structural engineer: Curtins. n Fire consultant: OFR Consultants. n Acoustic consultant: Aecom.
n Town planning consultant: Turley. n Accessibility and Inclusion: Edna Jacobson/About Access.
n Landscape consultant: Grant Associates.
n Main contractor: Balfour Beatty. n Façade sub-contractor: Martifer. n Winter Garden Roof: Novum.
February 2025 Health Estate Journal 61
Cagni Williams says the recently opened Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick ‘stands as a testament to the transformative power of architecture, not only as a healthcare facility, but as a revitalising force within its community’.
Courtesy of Jack Hobhouse
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