ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Managing the change process Many of the people who use the Centre have anxiety-related issues, and this impacted not only on the design of the new building, but also on how the whole change process was managed. Tilly Sheridan, Thistle’s facilities manager, explains: “We were very conscious of the needs of those we support during the transition from our old building – a former care home with lots of corridors and small, enclosed rooms – to the Centre of Wellbeing. Although the new Centre is a far more welcoming and bright space, for some of the people we support, coping with change can be a struggle. We’re really pleased that everyone made the transition, and that there is a high footfall through the Centre, as it attracts more people through the door and more people choose to spend time here. Overall the number of visits has increased by 72%.”
The Centre outside
As well as continuing the theme of openness and welcome, the exterior design of the Centre took account of it being in a Conservation Area, set beside the A-listed ‘Arts and Crafts’ Robin Chapel – which was built by the Tudsberys as a memorial to their only son, Robin, who, as a 25-year-old lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, was killed in the last days of World War II. It was completed in 1953. The Centre’s design is both contemporary and timeless, with an outward appearance and inward feel that are welcoming to all its users. A simple, two-storey box, the Centre sits subservient to the Robin Chapel, but is immediately obvious as a central community hub. The external materials complement the estate’s existing buildings, and the Foundation was keen to use timber cladding, to give warmth and a welcoming face to the Centre. This also blended gently with the mature trees present, ensuring a soft and non-imposing presence on site. The design saw the exterior of the building clad with pressure-treated Norclad Scandinavian Redwood, with the
‘‘
The Centre’s design is both contemporary and timeless, with an outward appearance and inward feel that is welcoming to all its users
same timber ‘wrapped into the interior’. Our aim as architects was to choose a timber that would not weather or change colour, and only need minimum maintenance. We introduced a very deliberately visible interface between the interior and exterior timber; we didn’t want to see a colour change between the two.
A ‘cohesive and holistic approach’ With timber chosen as a key element, significant focus was placed upon how best to provide a cohesive and holistic approach. Animation and richness were added to the external envelope through devices such as extended fins to offer shading to the first floor office accommodation, and the integration of the charity’s logo into the façade. The project also encompassed the reshaping of the public realm surrounding the Centre of Wellbeing. The main issue here was that, although originally designed with wheelchairs in mind, it still provided people with mobility issues with a ramped and very circuitous route from one part of the estate to another. After re-grading the site to allow direct access for wheelchairs throughout the area, the new layout is open and easily navigable.
3DReid’s design deliberately left the soft landscaping as a blank canvas. Mature cherry trees were already in place from the 1940s/50s, but the new beds and gardens were left as turf, so designing and upgrading the beds will be left to the people who use the Centre.
A ‘special project’
This has been a very special project. Sitting at the centre of a unique estate, the Centre of Wellbeing is the hub of the community. The challenges of combining the various needs of the people who use the Centre with creating a lovely and welcoming building within a conservation area were compelling. Everything – from the fabric of the building itself down to the fabric used to upholster the furniture – has been designed and specified with user wellbeing at the forefront of our thoughts.
hej
Chris Dobson
Chris Dobson joined the Edinburgh office of 3DReid in September 2006, and has been responsible for the design and delivery of several high profile and complex projects, both new-build and refurbishment. In addition to the Thistle Foundation project, these have included Primark’s flagship store in Newcastle, Daliburgh Primary School in the Western Isles, and the recent conversion and extension of a listed building on Edinburgh’s famous Princes Street in order to create new office accommodation.
Although experienced in a wide range of sectors, Chris Dobson’s primary focus lies with the development of cultural and community-based projects; two of which, a new concert hall in the heart of Edinburgh, and the extension of the National Museum of Flight Scotland, were recently shortlisted in high profile international competitions. Chris Dobson was shortlisted as ‘Emerging Architect of the Year’ at the RIAS Awards 2017, and has recently been invited by Scottish Futures Trust to sit on its ‘Learning Place of the Future’ Working Group. In addition to his work with 3DReid, he is a member of the steering group for the Architecture Fringe, an annual festival exploring all facets of Scotland’s built environment across a range of disciplines.
Mature cherry trees were already in place from the 1940s/50s. June 2018 Health Estate Journal 47
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
