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From a wave-inspired roof to a ‘sea to sky’ colour palette for each floor, an indoor exhibition space, a sensory garden, and an outdoor zone that could play host to events themed around the Battle of Flowers or Cider Festival...
In designing what will become the island’s £800m one-stop-shop key health facility, the Our Hospital Project Team have not only considered what’s needed from a practical perspective, but have produced a detailed vision of how design, art and culture will mingle internally and externally.
Their vision is for a hospital that is functional and clean, yet not cold and sterile. Why? Because, they argue, it makes for a better environment to recover in, and for staff to work in. More widely, a sensitively designed hospital could also serve as a platform for celebrating Jersey and, hopefully, promoting civic pride.
The design proposals for were recently released in a 348-page Royal Institute of British Architects report, which Express examines here, starting with the structure's striking roof…
Pictured: The future hospital seen from St. Aubin's Bay.
The design proposals explain that main hospital building will be located on the generally flat area of the Overdale site, taking advantage of its direct proximity to the wooded valley of Val André to the south-west.
The ‘upper body’ will include inpatient areas with “amazing views”, while the majority of the acute departments will be located in a lower two-storey podium.
The overall building height will be approximately the equivalent of the International Finance Centre in St. Helier, while its internal ‘Boulevard’ will be approximately 160m in length, roughly the length of King Street in St. Helier, between the Co-op and former Topshop store.
While most of the building will be based on “rectilinear templates” - designs mostly made up of straight lines - the roof and the main entrance will have more “organic” forms.
Pictured: The design of the main entrance has been inspired by Jersey's shoreline.
The design of the main entrance has been inspired by the shoreline, with the underside of the roof “mimicking” the ebb and flow of the tide and giving a different impression upon entry and upon exit.
Meanwhile, the roof itself - which has been designed with reference to Fort Regent - has been designed with a curved shape to “gesture” towards the top of the escarpment.
The proposed materials for the outside of the building include structural glazing, as well as stone, metal panel, concrete and timber look-alike cladding.
Levelling up from sea to sky
The ‘Nature’ of Jersey has been selected as a theme for each floor of the hospital to help provide “a calm, healing and positive energy and identity."
The ‘Nature’ of Jersey theme will also be present in the materials and finishes used to reflect the Jersey landscape.
In researching which materials to use, the design team poured over resins and light-weight concrete embedded with local oyster shell waste for bench tops, terrazzos with large stone details, through to concrete Boulevard flooring using recycled onsite waste aggregates.
Pictured: The materials considered for the St. Peter's Valley-themed ground floor.
Each floor will have its own colour, drawn from a 'Sea to Sky' colour palette to help patients and visitors with floor identification.
The ground floor, where the main entrance and reception will be located, will draw on a ‘woodland’ theme inspired by St. Peter's Valley with a combination of terrazzo flooring and polished concrete, while the undulating rhythms of the Jersey tides will be represented in the pattern of the Boulevard flooring from end to end, with inserts of coloured terrazzo aiming to represent ‘rockpools’ along the way.
Level 1's 'Coast' is inspired by Plemont, while Plemont Point Heath is the muse for Level 2. Level 3's 'Sky' will be a mix of pinkish hues captured above Rocco Tower.
Pictured: Each level will have a designated colour inspired by a 'sea to sky' palette.
While definite names for other areas are yet to be decided, inspirations are likely to include the parishes of Jersey, historical references and potential donors or benefactors.
The inpatient wards will be accessed via a central lift with the waiting and break out areas referencing the corresponding floor’s palette, along with the staff and nurse bases.
Pictured: The corridors will be curved to more individual and private bedroom entrances whilst helping to ease bed turning and access.
The corridors will be “undulating” to provide recessed, and therefore more individual and private bedroom entrances whilst helping to ease bed turning and access.
Timber-effect finishes in pre-formed laminate panels will be included to create offer a “more human-touch wrap” into the patient rooms.
Pictured: A concept image of a patient bedroom.
All will include a “light, fresh and tranquil” palette.
The Private Patient Unit will have its own lift access and reception on the second level.
Pictured: The private ward will have a "sophisticated" darker palette with brass fittings and concealed and feature lighting.
The palette for the rooms, which will have the same size as standard rooms, will be darker with “enriched” finishes and bronze fittings and the medical services being concealed - the concept being to mimic the aesthetic of a high-end hotel.
The Paediatric Ward has been designed to be a “non-institutional and non-threatening, high-quality environment” with “inspiring” and “stimulating” spaces as well as safe play areas.
The bedrooms will feature personal storage, desks and multi-purpose furniture, such as a lounge-come-parent bed.
Pictured: Inspiration for a child's room.
They will be painted in neutral palettes with natural finishes and art bringing warmth and colour.
The ward will include a parents’ facility with spaces for personal time as well as work with supporting IT.
The mental health unit will be set within a quiet site on the eastern side of the hill.
Its gardens should provide views over St. Helier.
Pictured: Artwork will be used in the Boulevard to create a “sense of place and identity”.
Arts will feature heavily in the new hospital in a bid to improve patient and staff experience with local and international artists being commissioned to create feature walls, murals, interactive installations soundscapes and sculptures.
Artwork will be used in the Boulevard to create a “sense of place and identity”.
Space for temporary exhibitions and performances will be provided on the ground floor to link the hospital arts programme to the local community. The report suggests an area for musicians or choirs.
Pictured: Examples of how art could work in similar spaces to the hospital used as references by the designers.
A number of ‘landmark’ pieces will be used to help attract the attention of patients and visitors around main signage points, while rtwork will also be installed between the car park and main entrance.
“The aspiration is to create a hospital environment that is truly enhanced and uplifted by the arts for generations to come,” the document notes.
While the commissioning framework is still being drawn up, the work of local artists such as Rian Hotton, Jools Holt, Abi Overland, Rowan Gillespie and Bokra features in concept designs.
Pictured: Local artists featured in the concept report.
On a smaller scale, art may feature in patients' rooms, and a digital arts channel is also being considered for the patient beside entertainment system.
The team have come up with the idea of bespoke interlocking soft furniture that mimics the curves of Jersey in spaces where individuals are likely to interact or loiter.
Together, all the pieces could be fitted together to create a ‘map’ of Jersey or arranged into other forms, depending on need.
Pictured: The 'Map and Trace' of Jersey.
Overall, the hospital would try and avoid sharp edges, preferring soft curves and “organic forms” in its joinery, such as at the reception desk, to “help to contribute to the non-institutional look and feel for this healthcare environment.”
Some benches may include “plug-and-play” phone charging and laptop use facilities.
Bringing the outside in
When designing the hospital landscape, the team said they focused on the patient, referring to scientific research which proved the link between views and access to nature with patient wellbeing and recovery.
“The Overdale site is surrounded by existing woodland and amazing views and so our aspiration is to protect and enhance these natural assets to help assist with patient recovery, and design the spaces around the hospital so that patients, staff, and visitors alike are able to easily see and access this incredible landscape,” the document notes.
Pictured: The gardens have been designed to provide a variety of different kinds of spaces to accommodate different uses and activities.
Water features could also be incorporated as they have similar benefits.
This could include rainfall flowing through the building and landscape before it drains to areas for storage.
Pictured: The Boulevard would be a key area blending nature with indoor spaces.
The gardens have been designed to provide a variety of different kinds of spaces to accommodate different uses and activities, and to be sensitive to the needs of patients, staff and visitors.
Surrounding the existing spreading Oak tree will be a tranquil sensory garden, next to which will be a circular lawn that can be used flexibly, for example for outdoor yoga and physical therapy or for events.
Pictured: The green spaces will include a sensory garden, a flexible space and an area for play and exercise.
On the other side of the lawn, around an existing Black Pine, will be a more active area for play and exercise.
On the west side of the gardens, the existing ground has been built up slightly so that it will be possible to enjoy the view over the bay to Elizabeth Castle over the boundary fence.
The larger opening in the centre of the building will lead to four courtyards separated by internal corridors. There will also be two additional small courtyards east and west of this central area, which will be accessible from the paediatric ward and antenatal clinic.
Pictured: A concept image of the space outside of the hospital entrance.
The space outside the hospital entrance has been designed as a green uncluttered space with the minimum of vehicles and traffic to ensure the experience of entering the hospital is as “calm and supportive” as possible.
The Accident and Emergency Department will have its own separate vehicle access from Westmount Road. Accessible and standard parking bays and sheltered cycle parking will be located close to this entrance.
The building and landscape will retain as many existing trees as possible while the existing ecology will be enhanced with “sensitive” interventions.
Food could be grown on site for patients, staff and visitors providing opportunities for horticultural therapy.
The outside space could also be used to “interpret” local events such as the Battle of Flowers, the International Motoring Festival or the Cider Festival, or even host some of them in the future.
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