Maternity and Gynaecology, Stoke Mandeville

Our design combines deep, rich colours that anchor and identify the departments, alongside delicate signage, comprising thin text and outlined organic forms. Smaller clusters of these organic forms line the doorways to clinical treatment rooms, leading patients along circulation routes to their destination.

As patients approach the waiting areas, they encounter our bespoke-designed timber beams, which channel dappled sunlight and shadows across the floor and walls. Arriving in the wait area, the beams enclose patients, offering pockets of privacy and a feeling of safety. As an experience, it’s akin to walking through a forest of trees, and eventually settling in a calming glade.

Throughout the environment, colours gently transition from one hue to the next, via gradients and translucent patterns. These organic shifts are a reminder of the extraordinary changes occuring for patients and families. In the words of lead designer Chloe Northover Naylor, this is about respecting the “state of transience, as it is experienced by patients – both in the building, and also in their journey beyond the hospital”.

The clinical culture at Stoke Mandeville places great importance on the wellbeing of staff, so we worked closely with clinicians to design a staff room flooded with natural daylight and filled with real plants. The materials in this room are durable and easy to clean, but never clinical. Furniture is grouped for both social and private moments, with a planted partition screen creating separation between a busy dining area and a quieter relaxation space. Staff have shown great enthusiasm for looking after the plants, which are thriving – a sure sign of space well used and loved.