Glasgow hospital wins Best New Building

The award-winning Stobhill Hospital

A new hospital in Glasgow has been named as the Best New Building outside London by judges of the Roses Design Awards, who gave it their Grand Prix award.

The annual awards saw the cream of the UK's regional design industry gather at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham to celebrate the creative high points of the year. Edinburgh-based Reiach and Hall Architects dominated the Architectural category for their design of New Stobhill Hospital.

The design of Stobhill Hospital was credited with 'breaking new ground with a good use of space and light, far removed from traditional hospital design." Ironically, the company won the award just 48 hours after having another one of their dubbed an "aesthetic disaster" and "an eyesore office block in the city centre."

Councillors in Glasgow had slammed the hospital's architects over their proposed design for George House in George Square. The office block is used by accountancy giant Ernst & Young and is set for a £65 million makeover, but elected members rejected the design by claiming it would not blend with neighbouring listed buildings even though it was recommended by council planners.

"Spirit lifting"

However, Reiach and Hall Architects weren't going to let that spoil their moment with Lyle Christie, a director with the company, saying to the Evening Times, "We are delighted to receive the Roses Grand Prix this year for our designs for Stobhill Hospital. The award is testament to the significant efforts of the whole team, including the contractor, and, in particular, the client."

He added: "We are especially pleased to receive recognition for our work. It has lifted spirits a little following the devastating planning refusal of our George House proposals."

The Health community were also full of praise for the design with Robert Calderwood, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, saying, "The new Stobhill Hospital, which opened to patients earlier this year, has been welcomed by the many staff who work there and the patients who attend for treatment.

"The building is large and airy with modern and uncluttered purpose built patient areas, consulting rooms and patient transport hubs. Patients and staff also benefit from the latest technologies installed in the new hospital including state-of-the-art MRI scanners.

"The "green" design of the hospital has a healthy regard for energy saving and has helped us graduate from the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme."

Stobhill is now among the top contenders for the Best Hospital Design Award in this year's Building Better Healthcare competition, along with the new £100m Victoria Hospital on the South Side.

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