Early designs for a flagship new children’s hospital in Cambridge have been approved.

Cambridge City Council’s planning committee recently welcomed the proposals for the new development, which will be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The hospital will care for children and young people from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire, as well as becoming a national and international centre of excellence for paediatric care.

Designed as a ‘hospital without walls’, it will embed genomic and psychological research alongside clinical expertise in physical and mental health, taking care of the whole child, not just their illness.

The plans have been put together by an international design team led by Turner & Townsend as project manager and cost manager and comprising an architectural collaboration between Hawkins\Brown and White Arkitekter, with Ramboll providing engineering services, MJ Medical providing healthcare planning, and planning consultancy provided by Bidwells.

A step forward

With an estimated total footprint of around 35,000sq m, including 5,000sq m of research space, the early designs put before planners show how the innovative hospital might look when it opens.

The plans also include details of possible future development for the hospital site.

Andrew Tollick, senior programme manager for design and construction at Cambridge Children’s Hospital, said: “I’m delighted that we have taken another big step towards making Cambridge Children’s Hospital a reality.

“There is still a long way to go before building work can begin, but planning approval for the early external designs is a rock-solid foundation.

“We are determined to realise our vision for ‘a whole new way’: one that integrates children’s mental and physical health services alongside world-class research to provide holistic, personalised care in a state[1]of-the-art facility.”

Engaging with users

The project team has been engaging with staff from across the partner organisations about how the hospital should work.

And members of Cambridge Children’s Network, which is made up of children, young people, parents, and carers from across the region, have also been instrumental in helping shape how the facility might look and feel in the early designs.

Negar Mihanyar, associate director and project lead at Hawkins\Brown, said: “This is an important milestone, not just for the project, but also for how we design holistic and inclusive healthcare in the UK – a long-overdue breakdown of the traditional silos of mental and physical care.

“It will serve children and young people in their most-formative years, so we have a responsibility to create a welcoming and empathetic space.

“We valued the insights and creativity that came from co-designing with children, young people, parents, and carers as well as staff across the two NHS trusts and the University of Cambridge, who have generously supported us while working tirelessly through the pandemic.”

A radical change

Cristiana Caira, partner and project lead at White Arkitetker, added: “We have worked at an intensive pace and in close collaboration with children, families, and clinical staff to achieve this milestone and we are immensely proud to be part of it.

“Cambridge Children’s Hospital is grounded in the vision of ‘a whole new way’ and enables a radical change in the model of care for children and young people by putting the whole child at the centre, while integrating their physical, mental and social health needs.

“The design team has been working to translate this vision into a new typology for healthcare.

“As a result, Cambridge Children’s Hospital is the first co-located facility of its kind in the world, and a role model for a new generation of children's hospitals.”

The environmental impact of the development has also been a major consideration in the early plans.

The new hospital aims to be an exemplar in sustainability and will include as many outdoor spaces as possible, such as gardens, courtyards, and terraces.

Setting a standard

And the main hospital building will itself be enclosed within a wide landscaped green perimeter that recreates the feel of a summer meadow.

Clinton Green, director at Turner & Townsend and design team project director, said: “The new hospital is a trailblazer in how integrated children’s mental and physical care is delivered.

“Its landmark design for a state-of[1]the-art healthcare facility, with its focus on sustainability and wellbeing, will set a new standard of paediatric care as an example for other hospitals across the UK and beyond to follow.”

Kevin Smith, Ramboll UK healthcare lead, added: “We are excited that the project can progress to its next stage and that it will ultimately provide a world-class sustainable, net zero carbon, future-proofed, smart, and homely healing environment."

Following the granting of planning permission work is continuing on developing the Outline Business Case, which has to be approved by NHSE/I and the Department of Health, and on the fundraising campaign, which was announced last year.