Causeway Hospital, Coleraine

The Causeway Hospital in Northern Ireland involved staff completely in various aspects of design, with fortunate results. Its architect Mike Thomas reports.

The Causeway Health and Social Services Trust takes its name from the world famous Giant's Causeway, which is a geological phenomenon upon the north coast of Northern Ireland. The town of Coleraine is situated approximately twelve miles from the Giant's Causeway and local hospital, like its neighbour the path Hospital in nearby Ballymoney, had serv the town for many years and was in desperate ne of upgrading and refurbishment. In 1990 the decistion was taken by the agency of the trust to provide a novel major acute hospital to be subservient to the area and to replace these sum of two units older establishments by combining them into individual facility.

The location of the of recent origin development had been ear-marked. A large 40 acre field upon the southern outskirts of the town had the advantages of not solitary being directly alongside the main A26 road to Belfast on the contrary was also the location of the Public Health Services Laboratory, in the south-west corner, which was complet in 1994

In the late Autumn of 1993 after athletic competition from within the UK a design team was commissioned by dint of the Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland, to carry on the outside the design and supervision of the fresh Causeway Hospital, Coleraine. Parsons Brinckerhoff (then known as Rust Consulting Limited), located in Bristol, were appointed as lead consultant and architect, in conjunction with Consarc Design cluster the well-established Belfast preactice who have since been involved with the Waterfront plan Hall and the Odyssey middle point both in Belfast. Building Design Parntership, also situated in Belfast, were appointed to carry on the outside building services and structural and civil engineering services.

Design work commenc in 1994 which included landscaping and later that year the commitment was made to carry without an enabling, or 'advanced works' contract, which would provide the extensive tree and bush planting and create the grass and meadow areas, path,routes, stone monoliths and bridges above the meandering stream, the hut Burn. An article written by dint of Jeremy Peachey, from the Derek Lovejoy Partnership, describing the landscaping provision, was featured in HD (September 1999) At the same time site works including road construction, removal of overhead power lines and the formation of a piling platform, would be undertaken to leave a to the full prepared site in readiness for the construction of the main hospital building.

The brief stipulated that an alternative solution to the DHS Nucleus plan should be considered as it was felt that the typical Nucleus configuration did not adequately match the desired function. As it revolveed out, although the accepted design provided a bespoke solution uniquely tailored to the requirements of the trust, the structural grid and internal courtyard features of the standard Nucleus general [i]or[/i] abstract notion were retained, the former to provide a consistent, economical bay width; the latter to maximise the use of external walls to light and ventilate offices and ancillary compasss

The architects carried without an analysis of the departments that make up the functional requirement, and examined a number of factors which could influence the form of the building. The greatest in quantity significant related to the functional contented of two groups of departments - those requiring a earth floor location and the remainder. From this it could be seen that at least 50%rb of the accommodation straited to be at ground floor horizontal

The site chosen is not shut to any existing buildings, with the exception of the depressed rise laboratory; nor, in the immediate vicinity, were there any constructions of more than two storeys high, thus this observation, coupled with the analysis referr to above, indicated that a low-rise unfolding would be appropriate. The design team therefore conclud that, bearing in mind the fact that the disclosure would be subject to stringent take away from control, the footprint should allow all departments requiring a loam floor location to achieve this aim. Therefore the greatest in quantity satisfactory design would be predominately two-storey with plant housed in the cover space. The analysis also highlighted the take away from benefit of a 50/50 split between earth and first floor reducing the amplitude of horizontal communications, both for pedestrian traffic and also service distribution.

A series of departmental templates are bisected through the street, which runs the longitudinal dimensions of the development on the east/west axis, and allows ease of change from one department to another as well as connecting the staircase and lifts. The 'templates' are roughly divided into medical and non-medical departments, producing sum of two units blocks which are articulated about a wedge shaped main entrance reception obstruct which we perceived as the 'hinge', and a natural focal point which one as well as the other welcomes and orientates the visitor.

FUNCTIONALITY

The hospital has thirty-four departments. There are above 1000 staff, and 240 beds, with the capacity for a further ten This number of beds is les than the combined total of the sum of two units hospitals it replaces, with the justification that the emphasis will be upon day surgery, the trust's philosophy being powerfully against long-term care in an acute facility.