COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION Right: Inside the hospital, a
double-height café and a central courtyard immediately orient visitors and offer comfort.
Below: The designers applied the principle of biophilic design to shape the hospital’s layout.
development of the planned Cambridge Children’s Hospital. The aim for Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital was to create a facility that felt like a ‘home’ for patients, clinical teams and researchers, accommodating treatment and innovation under one roof. This future- focused, adaptable approach ensures the hospital will remain effective and forward thinking for decades to come.
Ingo Braun
Ingo Braun is the Design principal at architectural design firm NBBJ, and is leading the design of the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital with Julia Davies. Ingo has with over 20
years of international design experience across healthcare, science, education, and commercial sectors, and is the design lead for the project. Known for his collaborative and context-driven approach, Ingo has previously led award-winning projects such as the Life Sciences Building at the University of Southampton and the Endeavour Oncology Centre.
Diversity of functions One of the most significant innovations in the new hospital is the co-location of diverse functions. By integrating research labs, clinical trials and treatment spaces, the hospital moves away from the traditional siloed approach. Currently, cancer services are located across multiple
sites. With a limited site for the new hospital, it was necessary to stack the varied functions vertically, which led to a modular design approach. This includes inpatient, day case and outpatient space alongside various supporting functions and interstitial plant floors – strategically placed on levels 2, 4, 7, and the roof – enable efficient distribution of services, reduce long mechanical runs and support specialised spaces like isolation wards and cytotoxic pharmacies.
Visual comfort was another design priority.
The design introduces shadow, depth and rhythm in facade elements to create a more human-scale and welcoming appearance for the hospital. This human-centric design strategy is also extended to patient rooms, emphasising natural light, privacy, and reducing stress.
One of the most powerful takeaways from this
project has been the importance of stakeholder engagement. Hospitals are complex ecosystems with countless user groups: patients, carers, families,
152 Health Estate Journal October 2025
Visual comfort was another design priority. The design introduces shadow, depth and rhythm in facade elements to create a more human-scale and welcoming appearance for the hospital. This human-centric design strategy is also extended to patient rooms, emphasising natural light, privacy, and reducing stress
clinicians, researchers, support staff, infection control and more. Each group brings distinct needs and concerns, reconciling these to balance stakeholder feedback with design requirements needs skilful mediation and strong leadership. Our client led this expertly, working with NBBJ as facilitators and translators. All user groups included patient representatives, ensuring that lived experiences informed the decision- making process. This collaborative method has led to smarter, more empathetic design choices throughout the hospital.
Interior design Involving an artist in the early design stages helped visualise how the building could work, showing scale, people flow and comfort, which later evolved into a broader strategy influencing interior design. In a
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184
