Southmead Hospital’s magnificent Brunel Building has been honoured with two RIBA awards, an internationally-recognised mark of excellence.
The building, designed by BDP architects, for North Bristol NHS Trust, scooped a RIBA South West Award 2018 for its architecture, and RIBA South West Client of the Year 2018.
Nick Fairham, Architect Director at BDP in Bristol, said: “It is extremely rewarding for the team, the Trust and the hospital to have been given this recognition. Southmead was designed in partnership with the staff and great consideration was given to patients’ needs and expectations. We wanted people to feel welcome and reassured and we believe that Southmead is a world-class healthcare facility. Credit should rightly be assigned to North Bristol Healthcare Trust whose ambition and forward-thinking approach drove this project and encouraged the development of a new care model.”
Tricia Down, North Bristol NHS Trust’s Head of Sustainable Health and Capital Planning and the PFI Project Director, who also attended last night’s award ceremony, said: “We are very pleased to win both these Excellence awards for the Brunel Building at Southmead. We all enjoy working in the hospital and acknowledge how well it supports the patients and our visitors. We worked closely with BDP; the North Bristol Healthcare Trust and our partners should be equally pleased with this recognition.”
RIBA said the Brunel Building at Southmead Hospital is “an outstanding response to the North Bristol NHS Trust’s brief to deliver an exceptionally sustainable healthcare facility, delivering long term environmental, social and financial benefits for patients, visitors, staff and the local community”. “This vast and highly complex building is a testament to the client’s vision and the architect’s skill in interpreting this to deliver a hospital which serves all its users so well”, RIBA added.
This month (May 28) marks four years since the official opening of the Brunel Building. The two-week operation saw 540 patients transfer from the old Southmead and Frenchay sites into the new 800-bed hospital with staff, volunteers, ambulance service and military going that extra mile to ensure patient safety was maintained.
The Brunel Building has since won a number of other important awards including Best Large Hospital 2017 in the European Healthcare Awards, and a Civic Trust award for its contribution to the city and the community, whilst it has also achieved BREEAM Excellent accreditation.
Nick and his design team at BDP in Bristol are currently working on a number of hospitals and healthcare facilities in the South West and Wales, including the largest construction project currently underway in Wales, the £350 million, 470-bed Grange University Hospital in Gwent; and Mayhill’s combined GP’s practice, community centre and nursery in Swansea, whilst they are awaiting the next stage of Musgrove Park, a surgical and critical care unit in Taunton.
BDP is a major international interdisciplinary practice of architects, designers, urbanists, and engineers. Its Bristol studio has an interdisciplinary team of 60 people, alongside offices in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Sheffield. Around the world, BDP has studios in China, India, the Middle East, Ireland and the Netherlands.
