Renfrew Health and Social Work Centre
Facts and figures
- The building houses three GP practices, dental services, physiotherapy, podiatry, speech and language therapy, community nursing, and Renfrewshire's Learning Disability and Social Work teams
- The centre opened in spring 2010
Bespoke therapeutic design
Renfrew Health and Social Work Centre marks a new benchmark in terms of bespoke therapeutic design. Additionally, in bringing together multiple service providers under one roof, the building is viewed as an important prototype in terms of the new Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) Hub Framework - an initiative which aims to maximise value for money by promoting local collaboration in planning and delivering public services.
The £11 million design and build project uniquely combines Renfrewshire Council-run services with those provided by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The building adopts a light, airy, non-institutional design approach to support and facilitate a range of patient care facilities.
The central 'street' space provides direct access to a vertical circulation 'core' of open accommodation, stairs, lifts and public toilets, which are visible from the main entrance. These open directly onto reception and waiting areas on the first and second floors. Individual departments and consultation areas are self-contained within the accommodation blocks, enabling maximum patient privacy and also allowing the main streetscape in the public entrance building to remain independently open and accessible.
An extensive collaboration with local community groups, the client and end-users, ensured that the completed building nurtures a sense of ownership within the wider community and a local artist was commissioned to complete a major site-specific artwork in the foyer.
Achievements
- Designed and modelled to maximise natural daylight and ventilation, it meets the aspirations of the passive design strategy.
- Achieved a BREEAM 'Very Good' rating and utilises a biomass heating plant.
Award-winning design and build
- The Health Facilities Scotland Design Award 2010
- The Paul Taylor Award for the best Healthcare Building of 2010
- The Glasgow Institute of Architects Design Award 2010
"Very refreshing attitude to design and build and worked very well with the overall client team... My congratulations to you and your team for the delivery of the new Centre to an excellent standard of quality and within our budget targets...an excellent team effort", said Stephen Baker, Partnerships Project Manager for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Callum Houston, Architect from Holmes Partnership, commented: "Working closely with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Renfrewshire Council and Interserve in an open and collaborative manner has ensured the delivery of a landmark building, where a high level of care and consultation has crafted the interior and spatial quality to meet the specific requirements of each individual user group and patient needs."
