In many ways this has been a considerable achievement. The site is small and is surrounded closely by residents’ properties with St Faith’s School immediately across the road. The task of Simons’ construction team, together with Nuffield Health, was to build a hospital just a few metres away from the old hospital - which continued to function fully throughout - without intruding into the working hospital’s routine, or into the lives of neighbours in a quiet residential area of narrow roads and limited access. That Simons has succeeded is testament to the company’s standards and site leadership.
The architects of the new hospital, P+HS Architects, have reason to be pleased with the outcome: an elegant brick-built building, airy and full of light, yet supremely functional, combines design and function to the right degree. It also sits well in the Cambridge cityscape.
From the outset the project team focused upon delivering a state-of-the-art hospital equipped to the highest standards. The resulting hospital is just that: from theatres through patient bedrooms to the simplicity of the reception area, the quality of materials, fixtures and medical equipment are of the finest.
The hospital is designed to work well for everyone: patients, staff, clinicians; even visiting children have their own play area. Every aspect of a patient’s experience has been thought through by staff and the project team working together.
The public-art programme that has been visibly active outside on the site hoardings during the building of the hospital, now furnishes the corridors inside, while the reception area hosts a long panel created by Simon Faithfull, the leading artist in the public-art programme, that depicts Cambridge the city picked out in tiny reflecting tiles against a dark background of the night. It is a compelling and beautiful piece, at one with its surroundings.
The art identifies the hospital’s location, rooting it in Cambridge, something that Maxine Estop, the hospital’s director has aimed to achieve from the very beginning. ‘The new hospital is a hospital for Cambridge and the surrounding area, just as it was in1926 when the Evelyn Nursing Home first established itself here in Trumpington Road. The old building will soon go, which we know is a sadness for many Cambridge families, but we have built a worthy successor in the new hospital, fit for purpose in the 21st century. We hope it, too, will in due course earn the affection of our patients, for whom quality of care is our priority.’