Hospital Building Award

Since 1997, the NHS has seen a huge investment in its fabric - the biggest hospital building programme in its history. This award will be made to the new hospital building project that raises the standard of the healthcare environment and demonstrates value for money and project management excellence.

2009 WINNER: Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth

After ten years of planning, the new state-of-the-art Queen Alexandra Hospital opened in June this year. The £256m project brings together the existing Queen Alexandra Hospital, St Mary's Hospital and the Royal Hospital Haslar. The new site more than doubles the size of the previous hospital provision.

Designed by Building Design Partnership with financing from Carillion Private Finance, the finished building has 1400 beds, 27 operating theatres, a helicopter landing pad and 2,000 parking spaces. It will house 6,000 members of staff.

A key challenge for the team was to ensure the comprehensive building works were carried out while the old hospital was still fully functioning. A pedestrian link bridge connects the hospital with the new Pathology Block located 60m away. Following a structural assessment, the proposed bridge was split into two separate structures to avoid excessive loading on the existing building.

Special design features include antimicrobial curtains and curved skirting boards, installed to help fight healthcare acquired infections. A key challenge for the team was to ensure the comprehensive building works were carried out while the old hospital was still fully functioning. The development has also enabled the trust to reduce CO2 emissions, as it uses waste heat to make steam and hot water, and features low-energy lights and tinted windows.

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