Health & Vetinary Project
Marie Curie Hospice
- Location:
- Hampstead, London
- Client:
- Marie Curie Developments Limited
- Architect:
- Tangram Architects
- Cost:
- £2,500,000
Marie Curie Hospice
The Hospice is a purpose-built centre offering specialist care for people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses, and support for families. The in-patient unit offers 34 beds and there is a fully-equipped day service department.
Refurbishment
The second and third floor ward areas have undergone a complete refurbishment, together with a reworked main entrance and refurbished ancillary areas on the ground and third floors. New services have been installed throughout including a new security system and nurse call facilities. Existing four bed wards were also remodelled into single wards with en-suite facilities. In addition flat screen televisions and local lighting controls providing dimming control have been installed at each individual bed.
The works were carried out whilst the Hospice remained occupied, with a phased programme aligned with reduced intakes of patients and with temporary facilities provided in other areas of the Hospice. These were then rotated after each phase, thus ensuring the Hospice could remain in operation and with the maximum number of beds.
Thermal Comfort and Acoustics
Existing glazing and doors were replaced with new offering improved thermal performance. Design calculations were carried out to assess overheating in the wards with a range of glazing options to arrive at an optimum solution. This was of particular concern due to the large glazed areas and with half of the wards having a south-facing façade. A small number of wards which exceeded acceptable summertime temperatures were then fitted with comfort cooling.
Creating a domestic environment was a key client objective. This included plasterboard ceilings in wards. However this presented a problem in meeting acceptable reverberation times. Detailed calculations were carried out making allowance for soft furnishing and a final solution developed which included a row of acoustic ceiling tiles set to one side of the ward thus ensuring both aesthetic and acoustic requirements were met. High level services were also then coordinated with these positions to give access to mechanical and electrical services as required.
