Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Requirement
The expansive Norton Court building at Birmingham Women’s hospital has accommodated a wide variety of hospital services for many years, including accommodation for parents with children in neonatal care, the clinical genetics team, and office space and interview rooms.
While the service inside were cutting edge, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Norton Court to provide the same high-quality environment patients, staff and visitors enjoyed in other parts of the hospital. As part of a £63 million redevelopment programme, the hospital plan to demolish the building and replace it with a more modern facility.
Many of the departments in the building were able to relocate to other locations within the hospital, but there would still be a requirement for a new facility while Norton Court’s replacement was under construction. This would also need to be high quality, but delivered as quickly as possible to enable the demolition of the existing building. Having been impressed with the quality of their service in the past, the Trust approached Wernick Buildings to deliver the new facility.
- Project name: Lavender House
- Sector: Healthcare
- Location: Birmingham
- Client name: Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Supplied by: Wernick Buildings
- Accommodation type: 3 storey Rapidplan modular building
- Size: 55 modules including plant room module
- Features: Clinical areas, DDA compliant bedrooms, office space
Solution
The completed 3 storey building is finished externally with cladding colours to match nearby hospital buildings.
The ground floor features clinical rooms, interview rooms and bedrooms for visiting families. Special care was given to the design of the bedrooms, which each some with en-suite bathrooms, including one designed to be accessible for disabled parents. Kitchenette areas were also provided for those staying overnight.
The first floor accommodates the clinical genetics team and the regional cytology school, while the second floor is comprised of office space. As part of the project, Wernick also delivered a car park for the building.
Wernick responded very professionally to the challenges posed by the site, both predicted and unpredicted. Feedback from end users has been very positive, and I look forward to working with Wernick again in the future.
