New £70 million hospital completes in Wales

Work has completed on the new £70m Ysbyty Cwm Cynon in the Cynon Valley, South Wales. The brand new facility has already attracted positive attention from the community, its original intention being a catalyst for improvement of the surrounding area's regeneration.

The hospital was commissioned by Cwm Taf Local Health Board and the project team included: HLM as architects, landscape architects and interior designers; Arup as Structural engineers; Buro Happold as M&E engineers; Capita as project manager; Gleeds as cost consultant; and VINCI Construction as contractor.

The new Cynon Valley Hospital provides local primary care support for the residents of the Cynon Valley and local communities. The 18,500 sq m, two-storey building occupies approximately 6.5 hectares (16.1 acres) and features:
• 128 rehabilitation and intermediate care beds
• Children's services
• A large supporting therapies unit
• Outpatient clinics
• Community dental services
• A mental health unit for community out-patient and elderly in-patient care.

The new hospital's space usage is flexible and adaptive to accommodate change as the model of care evolves. Its design harnesses natural daylight and views of the surrounding landscape, and uses spatial quality, colour, comfort levels, materials and public artwork to create a "non-institutional" feel and enhance the psychological well-being of both patients and staff.

The scheme is integrated into the landscape, with a curved plan following the line of the river Cynon. Its stepped configuration of low-rise green roofs and pitched roofs lower its impact in a popular valley overlooked by traditional terraced housing. It is orientated to capture views of the surrounding valleys, while the landscape design promotes biodiversity. The internal environment, formulated around the use of simple circulation, colour and light, is planned around internal courtyards for staff and patients.

Energy efficiency is central to the design of the new hospital. Practical and sustainable features have been adopted, including naturally ventilated wards that make the most of daylight and passive climate control through the building's thermal mass, via exposed soffits in the wards. A biomass hot water system is among the features that further reduce the facility's carbon footprint as well as operating costs.

Jonathan Jones, associate director at HLM, said: "Cynon Valley Hospital ensures that the best care can be delivered to the residents of the Cynon Valley and the wider area, to the highest modern standards. The building's scope for adaptation ensures that it has the ability to change in future and thus keep pace with the future evolution of care.

"The hospital will further enhance standards of living for the people the area by sparking regeneration, making this a truly transformational project for the Valley and for South Wales. With participation from the school, with visits and talks with team, and the community's and staff's involvement in the various arts projects, this ambition has hopefully already taken hold," he added.

Cynon Valley Hospital replaces the outdated Mountain Ash and Aberdare hospitals, with the existing sites scheduled for redeveloped in the near future.

Categories: Latest News
Tags: Architecture | Landscape | Interiors