Promoted
Corstorphine & Wright leading the way in sustainable design for healthcare
March 5, 2023
Corstorphine & Wright is one of the top 25 architecture practices in the UK, with more than 270 employees across 11 nationwide studios.
Celebrated for its design expertise across a diverse range of sectors, Corstorphine & Wright is one of the leading architecture practices in the UK, particularly applauded for its innovation and ingenuity in design and delivery of its healthcare projects.
Corstorphine & Wright believes architecture is an opportunity, where every building offers possibility to improve the quality of life, and where architecture elicits empathetic connections, thereby not only instilling a sense of place but manifesting a reflection of ourselves.
It is this philosophy to which the practice applies to its work across all healthcare projects.
With two North East studios, in Darlington and Newcastle, the team at Corstorphine & Wright is at the forefront of sustainable design.
Julie Smyth, Newcastle studio associate director, says: “Each healthcare project is unique and architecturally distinct.
“However, they derive from the same fundamental design principles – light, openness, connectivity and intimacy through space.
“Through meaningful considerations of the human need and our vast experience within the design space, this allows us to create spaces that are functional yet beautiful, a place people want to be (as well as need to be).
“People are at the centre of everything we design for our health and care environments.
“Staff and patients and their relatives – those who need help and those who are there to help.
“We believe in the importance of architecture that promotes both good health, in tandem with user functionality, thereby improving user flow while ensuring the positive wellbeing of all future building occupiers. in tandem with user functionality, thereby improving user flow while ensuring the positive wellbeing of all future building occupiers.
“Consequently, we foster close personal co-operation with our clients, in order to find new ways to connect people and their environments.”
Karen Crowe, Corstorphine & Wright’s ESG director, adds: “It is also more important now than ever before to ensure healthcare facilities are healthy by design in the context of both occupant wellbeing and the environmental impact.
“As such, we incorporate future-thinking and environmental impact into our designs in the form of smart use of materials and working to zero-carbon emission targets.
“But this is only the start. “Cleaner, greener and healthier buildings are our focus, and this informs the buildings and spaces we create.”
Corstorphine & Wright’s healthcare experience is wide ranging and includes acute, primary, secondary and tertiary care, and mental health care architecture in both public and private healthcare settings.
“We also specialise in healthcare planning and strategic masterplanning.
“We have extensive experience in creating comforting and supportive environments for those living with dementia, autism and other complex needs in all settings including community and social care, and care homes, etc. A recent project is Grove House Care Village, for Springfield Healthcare, a Grade II listed manor house set in almost two hectares of protected landscaped gardens. The existing manor will be converted into 24 assisted living apartments for 65 years-plus, while east of the manor, a new 63-bed residential/care home will be constructed for 75 years-plus.
Julie adds: “Grove House Care Village has been designed in such a way that enables pioneering integrated intergenerational care on site.
“There will be a woodland classroom and nature trail with associated app and local schools will also use the village’s internal and external facilities.”
Sustainability is also at the heart of this design, through the materials chosen and the planned reduction in carbon footprint of the over build by sourcing local materials and supplies.
Innovate design and construction processes on projects such as Grove House are transforming the architecture of our healthcare.