CONSTRUCTION
Timber ‘takes centre stage’ at Alder Hey site
Alex Brock, Pre-Construction manager at B&K Structures, a structural timber frame contractor specialising in the design, supply, and installation, of engineered timber and hybrid structures, explains how ‘timber took centre stage’ in the construction of The Catkin Centre – a new outpatient unit for children, and Sunflower House – a tier 4 inpatient mental health unit, both part of the UK’s first NHS health park for children at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Winner of the Healthcare Project of the Year at the Structural Timber Awards 2022, the twin buildings surround landscaped courtyards with consulting rooms, bedrooms, and play spaces to provide a healthcare setting that doesn’t feel like a hospital. We at B&K Structures (BKS) used engineered timber as an offsite solution, utilising the biophilic, health, and well-being benefits of wood to creative a landmark healthcare project. Alder Hey Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) offers specialist services to support children and young people in Liverpool and Sefton, up to the age of 18, experiencing mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, psychosis, and more complex psychological difficulties. Alder Hey Children’s Outpatient facility, meanwhile, treats children and young people up to the age of 18. There are a number of departments within The Catkin Centre – from radiology and phlebotomy, to plaster rooms, ‘and many more’.
Creating a ‘21 century health campus’ Constructing two new healthcare units at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, alongside one another in a verdant setting, has
The Catkin Centre – a new outpatient unit for children, and Sunflower House – a tier 4 inpatient mental health unit, are both part of Alder Hey in the Park.
been acclaimed as creating a 21st century ‘Health Campus’, and possible blueprint for future NHS projects. The specialist children’s mental health unit and outpatient unit have been designed with the biophilic benefits of timber – a timeless
natural material with multiple attributes, including sustainability – centre stage. Lead architect, Cullinan Studio said,
“Increasing evidence shows that contact with nature – particularly for those living in urban environments, improves health, reduces stress, and enhances quality of life; and it has proven outcomes for the recovery of those with mental health or behavioural issues.” ‘Alder Hey in the Park’ breaks the mould
The structural steelwork and engineered timber hybrid frame which forms the buildings. 40
of the institutional appearance of our NHS landscape, with the architect’s vision complementing planting – both inside and outside the buildings – with the sensitive and creative use of engineered timber. Following extensive consultation and an RIBA competition, the design detail was undertaken by 10architect, Buro Happold, and structural engineers, Scott Hughes Design, with Galliford Try appointed as main contractor. As one of the UK’s leading sustainable offsite specialists, B&K Structures was chosen to deliver a hybrid solution involving its regular supply chain partner, Stora Enso, to produce all of the cross-laminated timber (CLT) elements
AUGUST 2023 | THE NETWORK
Courtesy of B&K Structures
Courtesy of Cullinan Studio
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