The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital was granted planning in September 2015 by the Sandwell Metropolitan Council.
The site is located in Smethwick and measures approximately 520 metres from the north to the south, and 150 metres from west to east, totalling 6.76 hectares / 16.7 acres in area.
Analysis of the brief produced a natural stacking of functions with wards at the top with clinical areas in the middle and the car park at the bottom, a unique arrangement for a building of this type. A clear and logical stacking of floors and functions maximises usable floor area, provides direct patterns of use and achieves desired clinical adjacencies internally.
The result is a classical tripartite arrangement of a base, a middle and a top, fronted by a landscaped park to the south which creates a modern and differentiated appearance, and maximises open space on the site whilst promoting health, wellbeing and community use.
A number of courtyards draw natural light into the deep plan podium and provide views out. A large Winter Garden at level 5 provides a flexible covered external space for use all year round. It is a significant volume around which hospital activities are organised, providing multiple opportunities for use ranging from people spilling out of the café and servery area through to the holding of exhibitions, presentations, parties and events.
This building is unique in providing fully covered car park and drop off for taxis, buses, patient transport and private cars. We have developed, uniquely, a single standard grid of 7.8m x 7.8m that works efficiently and flexibly to accommodate car park, clinical, and ward layouts throughout the building.
The building is a large area of accommodation, approximately 80,000sqm. By breaking down the functions into separate but related parts, with significant set-backs at levels 2 and 5, we have reduced the scale of the building so that a suitable, human, scale is achieved.
A simple palette of materials is proposed for the external envelope. The materials palette includes terracotta, timber, glazing, ETFE pillows, concrete, painted metal cores and metal louvres.
Controlled use of colour within the façade will be applied to aid wayfinding. The facade materials are organised by vertical elements to break up the mass of the building and reflect the rhythm of the structural grid. Structure and servicing requirements are allowed to inform the architectural language, resulting in a building that is inviting, legible and expressive.
Edward Williams Architects [now named Cagni Williams] is Architectural Design Lead of a team with HKS appointed by Carillion as the Architectural Project Lead and Sonnemann Toon Architects as Architectural Clinical Lead.
Financial close was achieved at the end of 2015 with construction started early in 2016.
—
Read the whole article Construction of Midland Metropolitan Hospital 'will go ahead' despite collapse of Carillion
