BDP - Development - Brighton, Children's Hospital

Date: 23 Jan 2004

BDP has been selected as the multidiscipline design team for the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital Brighton for which Kajima is appointed preferred bidder.

Benedict Zucchi, BDP Project Director, commenting on the selection said “We feel very fortunate to have this rare opportunity to design a children’s hospital as it is one of only seven dedicated paediatric hospitals in the UK. It is also very exciting to design for children, it feels inherently worthwhile.”
The new hospital draws its identity from its maritime setting. The site is outstanding with sea views in all directions which have been exploited.

The deliberate soft forms of the building respond to the soft form of mothers and children while the main or ‘heart’ space is the atrium which will be used for art classes for the children, and to display their work, as well as for other activities such as puppet shows. The widespread use of colour is a key part of the design. It has been designed not to feel like a hospital.

A top priority was for daylight and the design of shallow floors with day lit spaces has made the building very sustainable.

The current hospital is housed in a 1906 Edwardian building on the other side of Brighton which has become outdated. The new facility will be integrated with the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Planning permission has just been granted for this PFI scheme, financial close is expected in April (2004) and start on site in July (2004). The inauguration of the new hospital is planned for December 2006 when facilities will transfer into the new building.

BDP is architect, interior designer, and building services and structural engineer; the quantity surveyor is Gardiner & Theobald; the clinical planner is Newchurch; the fire engineer is Buro Happold; and the arts consultant is Lesley Greene.

Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, Brighton

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