Khalifa agrees, ‘having a space has made a huge difference.
‘I think for the patients on the ward the nice thing is that all of our bedrooms have their own windows that look out to an internal courtyard,’ says Highton.‘So they all have a natural element to them.
They’re not looking out into an industrial unit or to another wall… The atrium is very large.It’s open, it’s airy, so that provides light.It’s quite a light feeling building.’.
Wood confirms that by turning the upper floor, outpatient windows inward toward the courtyard, Bryden Wood were able to create ‘much better acoustic and views’ for those rooms.‘We made the building an experience that was unaffected by surroundings…major roads and other buildings that we had privacy issues with onsite.
We turned the section of the building, so it’s quite introspective…instead of looking out, or typically out, to the surrounding environment, which is compromised.’ Additionally, he comments that the removal of the ‘domesticity’ of these windows aids with providing the building’s external aesthetic that ‘higher, almost iconic value,’ it manages to achieve.. It’s all part of Circle’s larger focus on personal experience, which Highton also discusses with respect to the patient bedrooms.
These he describes as being ‘of a very good size...not too big… So they’re not cold and very clinical,’ he says, before highlighting that because the patients all have their own individual rooms, ‘there is much more space.’ Each in-patient room also contains a couch able to double up as a bed for guests if they want it overnight.3. in design, and allow people to be creative and practical.. That feels liberating to us.. 3.
Design Control: Disruptive Technologies.is a book due to be published soon by RIBA.
We have a chapter in it.You can order it here:.