Architecture
Broxbourne Nursing Home: innovative and sustainable design
Cheten Chauhan, director of RDT Architects, discusses the design process behind Broxbourne Nursing Home – a new, purpose- built, luxury home located in the Lea Valley
This modern, purpose-built, 77-bedroom riverside care home opened its doors last summer to residents in Hertfordshire. Specialist care home RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) practice RDT Architects designed this purpose built care home and played a key role in its development. The home, owned by Hertfordshire County Council and operated by Gold Care Homes, was built with sustainability and innovation at the forefront. RDT was involved throughout the conceptual design, planning, and construction phases, and was retained by the client as architectural design advisor during construction.
Design brief
The original briefing was for a dementia care home, so the team at RDT faced challenges along the project journey by adapting the design to a nursing care home, which included dementia and bariatric care. The revised design enables the needs of residents living with a variety of conditions to be supported fully in the new environment.
From inception, the project brief was for the delivery of innovation in design and architecture to support the need for the operator to deliver advancement in the care of residents within a modern care home environment. Key requirements included:
n Architectural language which does not create an institutional feel from the approach to the building or from within.
n A flexible design in the spaces created within the building envelope to meet the ever-changing needs of its residents.
March 2023
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
n Energy efficiency and sustainable design with a drive to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating to compliment the principles of innovation.
n As building users, the development should realise a building both fit for purpose and one which considers the ongoing lifecycle costing.
n Based on the operational and management requirements, the building form was to be no greater than two- storeys in height.
n RDT were to consider the building position on site to allow for good use of the remaining land parcel for the development of residential dwellings.
n Consideration placed on the existing context of the area and the local ecology,
From concept, importance was placed on keeping the development to a residential scale to create a homely environment
including the positioning of the building and use to take advantage of the New River which runs alongside the site.
Design approach
As part of the early briefing stages, the project team carried out extensive research into exemplar design and care delivery in the market. Learning from this exercise informed the conceptual stages of the project. A clear stakeholder engagement strategy was established, starting with the local neighbouring community and continuing with local planning departments, independent design review panels, and wider community groups. From concept, importance was placed
on keeping the development to a residential scale to create a homely environment. The building user group and their varied and complex needs were at the forefront of consideration in the design of the built environment. A building was required that allowed for ultimate flexibility to support residents living with a number of complex needs which may change over time. The site, building, and interior design
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