Two of our architects specializing in real estate planning and project delivery in the healthcare and social services sectors, Karen Côté and Marie-Pier Morin, took part in the European Healthcare Design 2023 annual conference in London. During the conference, they visited a range of unique and innovative healthcare facilities that will undoubtedly inspire the entire team in their projects.

Integrating nature for healing: the case of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital

Numerous studies show that contact with nature improves health and quality of life, reduces stress, and promotes patient recovery. By integrating Europe’s first Children’s Health Complex into a park, Alder Hey Hospital has become a powerful instrument for healing while raising the bar for future developments within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS).

The children’s hospital, which forms the core of the Alder Hey Health Complex designed by BDP, operates an outpatient clinic, emergency and imaging departments, a 16-operating-room surgical suite, and 270 patient rooms. Designed in close collaboration with a group of children, the project moved away from the hospital’s conventional, rigid typology in favour of a fluid and transparent environment, closely connected to nature and infused with colour, playfulness, and imagination.

The functions are organized along a large, light-filled hall with a biophilic design, offering a variety of spaces for social interaction and spirituality—for both humans and birds alike. The nature of the adjacent park challenges the institutional framework, extending into and enveloping the three wings that house the care units, allowing flora, fauna, and even dinosaurs to reclaim the space. This healing environment places the physical and psychological well-being of young patients at the heart of the design, without compromising the building’s functional and clinical efficiency.

Mental and physical healthcare for children

The Alder Hey Health Complex also includes Sunflower House, a 12-room residence specializing in mental health, as well as the Catkin Centre, a pavilion dedicated to the assessment and treatment of physical and mental health for children and young adults.

Both pavilions, designed by Cullinan Studio, are jointly integrated through an innovative approach to comprehensive physical and mental healthcare for children. Public and private functions within each building are arranged along an internal ambulatory circulation that opens onto secure, private outdoor courtyards.

This layout increases contact with nature from interior spaces while ensuring the privacy and safety required by their functions. The exposed timber structure inside also contributes to the natural, warm, and welcoming character of the pavilions.

The Alder Centre: a centre for spirituality

Providing bereavement support to families affected by the loss of a child, the Alder Centre is discreetly integrated within the Alder Hey Health Complex.

Set within a secluded garden, the building designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris offers architecture that is simple to understand and easy to use, much like a large home. Organized around a central space that brings together living, kitchen, and dining functions, the centre unfolds into seven meeting and consultation rooms, each benefiting from its own private garden. Large openings facing the garden, natural and warm materials, and steeply pitched roofs equipped with skylights and vents provide a comforting supply of natural light and ventilation to the rooms. Together, these attributes make the centre a welcoming place where tranquillity and spirituality offer a restorative experience.

Great Ormond Street Hospital: from research to clinical care

Integrated within the hospital, the Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children brings together research activities, workspaces, and a specialized outpatient clinic focused on rare diseases. Designed by Stanton Williams Architects, the building integrates harmoniously with its surroundings, particularly the street and the park it faces. The project offers interesting and uncommon interactions for both users and passersby: from the street, the public can observe research activities taking place in the laboratory through overhead views, without disrupting the researchers’ concentration—a way of making scientific research accessible to the broader community.

This visual connection is also beneficial for pediatric patients attending medical consultations, as it encourages interaction between researchers and patients, makes research efforts tangible, and offers families a sense of hope regarding scientific advances. In addition to this “bedside” laboratory, workspaces, seminar rooms, and meeting areas are provided to further strengthen collaboration across disciplines, all with the goal of identifying the most effective treatments and therapies.

The Sight and Sound Centre, an outpatient pediatric clinic specializing in visual and auditory disorders, is housed in a historic building that was adapted to meet the specific needs of its users by Sonnemann Toon Architects. The program also had to be adjusted to respond to the particularities and constraints of the existing built environment. The result is a modern, inviting, and warm space with a less clinical feel—more like a large home, a concept that is easily embraced by children.

A journey that is both artistic and functional

Inserted between two buildings at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Day Treatment Centre houses a day surgery service and an operating suite for patients who are able to return home following their procedures. The site’s limited footprint required the program to be distributed across multiple levels.

Under the theme of space, art is integrated into an overarching concept that supports the child’s care journey throughout the building designed by ADP. This one-way circulation ensures that young patients whose procedures are complete do not cross paths with those who have just been anesthetized, creating a continuous loop between the preoperative and postoperative areas.

Armed with new knowledge and inspiration, our team is ready to integrate innovative concepts into the planning and delivery of projects in the healthcare and social services sectors.