Alder Hey Children’s Hospital

This is more than just a complete contrast to the previous Alder Hey building (which still lurks next door), offering a model for the design of children’s healthcare facilities far and wide. A hugely complex brief and a short delivery were handled superbly by the design team with a tenacious and astute client driving forward at every step.

Recognising the therapeutic value of nature, the three-finger plan form gives almost all rooms a view of the park and provides balcony ‘playdecks’ at the end of each ward that connect children with the outdoors even if they have a long inpatient stay. Internally, the goal was to make wayfinding simple and stress-free and get away from the labyrinthine corridor's characteristic of the hospital’s current buildings.