100.000 sqm
UK
2001
NNUH, the largest single-build hospital ever built in the UK and the first completed under PFI. Designed as a campus-style medical village, it sits in 63 acres of land on the outskirts of Norwich. It has almost 1.000 beds and treats more than 500.000 patients a year. With three main zones, the hospital has been organised to meet the unique configuration and servicing requirements of key patient-focused facilities.
Designed using the ‘matrix pattern of organisation’ (a bespoke concept that – in this case – reconciled clinical and construction efficiencies), the plan is clearly articulated and flexible. Outpatient (Ambulatory Care) and Inpatient (Ward) zones are arranged on either side of a Diagnostic and Treatment services ‘street’ and the clinical services that serve all three are distributed across them, so that all functions within a particular service can be physically integrated. Capacity for expansion and change has been facilitated through strategically placed ‘soft spaces’. NNUH is welcoming and accessible, with a humanity of scale that belies its size and a variety of well-lit public areas. It was delivered four months ahead of schedule and was named ‘Best Designed Hospital Project’ in the NHS Better Healthcare Awards 2002.
