ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Staff praise UK’s first WELL Gold health facility
Sharon Cook, Healthcare lead at P+HS Architects, reflects on how the 10 WELL Concept areas were embedded into the design of the Northumbria Health and Care Academy, the UK’s first healthcare building to achieve WELL Gold certification, creating a workplace that the practice says ‘champions wellbeing, connection, and clinical excellence’.
In a ground-breaking move, the Northumbria Health and Care Academy, alongside P+HS Architects, has set a new standard for healthcare facility design, prioritising staff wellbeing. Situated in the grounds of the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH) in Cramlington, Northumberland, and built by Meldrum Group (with Hilson Moran as WELL-Accredited Professionals on the scheme), the Academy has become the UK’s first healthcare building to earn the prestigious WELL Gold certification from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). The Academy also clinched the Salus Healthy
Workplace Award at the 2024 Healthy City Design Conference, a testament to its innovative approach. Working to the WELL standard has been a forward- thinking move from the developer, Assura, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and the project team, acknowledging that the Health and Care Academy is not just a healthcare building, but also a workplace.
A co-location of services The Academy creates a base for an innovative co- location of services, making for a sustainable overall development. The 8,000 m2
The WELL accreditation process comprises a pre-assessment, followed by a period of gathering evidence during design and construction, reporting of this to IWBI, and site visits by the WELL assessor. The award by IWBI is then followed by re-certification, to be done every three years. Continued regular testing is required for some elements – for example water quality, meaning that this is a long-term commitment from the client, with third- party accreditation required for testing carried out in the certification and re-certification process.
WELL ‘Concepts’ There are 10 ‘Concept areas’ which form the WELL standard, with each broken down into a series of ‘Features’ with distinct health intents. P+HS worked closely with the client and other consultants – including the WELL assessor from Hilson Moran, to integrate these aspects into the overall design. The 10 concepts are: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, and Community. Let us look at each in turn.
building includes a centre of
training excellence for nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals – such as physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists, and occupational therapists, plus conference facilities, office space, and meeting rooms. The ground floor is occupied by a GP practice, which has relocated its services from a nearby outdated premises, also providing a base for community health professionals. Not only does the new Health and Care Academy create an exciting opportunity to strengthen the health workforce, it also provides a state-of-the-art primary care facility and workplace. The WELL standard is described by the IWBI as ‘a vehicle for buildings and organisations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being’.1
The ethos of the
standard – which we have tried to take on board as designers, is to create a project where wellbeing is embedded, being not just ‘building-focused’, but also ‘people-focused’, and that this is incorporated from the early design stages.
n Air This concept is focused around air quality for building users through a combination of active, passive, operational, and behavioural strategies. An indoor quality plan was commissioned for the building early in the design process to set
Above: The GP main entrance and pedestrianised area outside the building.
Above: The 10 WELL Concepts, symbolised.
Left: The upper floor main entrance to the new Northumbria Health and Care Academy.
June 2025 Health Estate Journal 53
Assura plc Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
International WELL Building Institute
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