Aspen Wood, Leaning Disability Low Secure Forensic Inpatient Unit – Gilling Dod Architects

Nominee Information

Aspen Wood is located on a former brownfield site within Maghull Health Park. The design team participated in numerous service user engagement sessions/clinical workshops to develop the brief for the external landscape spaces. The therapeutic benefits that landscape provides were a strong theme that came out of this process. Service users were keen to have outdoor spaces that allowed them to connect with nature, enjoy views to the countryside and recreational areas.

 

Biophilic design is the overarching theme of the scheme expressed through the architecture and the integration with the landscape. The ward formation of the building is designed in a winged arrangement that wraps around outdoor space to form the private gardens each serving the adjacent internal ward areas. The scale of these spaces allows the service user to feel safe close to the building whilst enjoying connectivity with nature and the wider landscape.

The design of the external landscape environment responds to the organic form of the architecture providing a series of adjacent smaller private enclosed courtyards and gardens within a larger estate garden. Access to external space has been carefully considered to suit the specific needs of the service user with learning disabilities. The outdoor spaces are designed to varying scales including small scale more intimate private areas as well as larger open spaces for group activities.

Trees and planting throughout the car park frame views and provide visual interest as well as serving to alleviate the impact of the hard standing areas. Within the building there is a central external ‘heart space’ courtyard adjacent to the café with space for outdoor dining.

Within the inner areas of the building there are a series of small intimate scale ‘Zen courtyards’ and ‘lightwell’ spaces. These provide points of orientation and safe tranquil spaces to sit and contemplate.

There are 12 private ward and activity gardens each consisting of a seating circle that helps encourage the service user to immerse themselves amongst plants/nature. An extensive perimeter garden beyond the private gardens creates a communal space with informal recreational areas accessible for Staff and Service Users. This perimeter space includes a Multi-Use Games Court (MUGA) and a Growing Garden area with accessible raised growing beds. This perimeter garden is an asset to the unit that provides valuable therapy space, integrated nature trail and horticultural area that balance with the private spaces within the fringes of the building.

The new planting includes native and ornamental trees and plant species to enrich the biodiversity of the overall site providing colour/texture/seasonal variety and attracting insect pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Service user engagement included proactive workshops with the artists. Art has been integrated into the external spaces with design input from the service users. These include aspen leaf and wildlife themed bronze inlays in paving. A new sculpture is presented in the arrival space made of a series of totem style bronze with coloured glass panels engraved with elements found in nature such as leaves, seed heads and flowers.