Step Exhibitions
One Central Park Community Hub – Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) NHS Foundation Trust
Nominee Information
Greater Manchester’s Mental Health (GMMH) NHS Foundation Trust is in the process of enhancing its outpatient and community-based healthcare services to residents in additional suburbs of the city. Previously located in several locations around Manchester, GMMH are centralising operations within one strategic hub at the Central Park Campus, an established business complex located 1.5miles northeast of Manchester City Centre easily accessible by public transport and private car.
The self-contained building which underwent refurbishment comprises of two 3-storey splayed office wings with a glazed central atrium complete with formal entrance and café.
The brief was to develop a series of specialised clinic and consultation spaces within the ground floor level of the East Wing. The remainder of the building houses office-based non-clinical departments with a variety of hot desks and private meeting rooms. The design of the new Central Park NHS Hub facilitates greater collaboration between the multiple agencies that form GMMH.
In collaboration with the design team, we undertook an iterative concept design process with careful consideration on functionality, safety and comfort. The outpatient clinic developed to include twenty-one individual and three group consultation rooms, three clinic spaces, and a collection of ancillary areas to support the operational strategy. A set of design parameters were established early on to steer the project supplementing the standard HTM regulations and anti-ligature design considerations.
Externally, seamlessly integrated into the existing urban realm with extended paving, a new dedicated entrance door has been created away from the primary building entrance atrium to increase privacy for patients. Internally, the design of the outpatient clinic revolves around creating a series of therapeutic spaces for a variety of potential users. Careful consideration was focused on the interior design including tall ceilings, omission of dead-end corridors, and how colour palettes create visual relief. Following critical input from clinical teams, a calming grey base tone was chosen in conjunction with feature colours which create spaces tailored to specific patient groups. For example, shades of purple and soft oranges were used within neurodiversity friendly rooms, whilst muted blues and greens were utilised to create soothing environments for patients with ADHD or dementia.
The specification of seating was chosen to compliment the colour palette with similar muted tones and varying textures providing patients a choice to find the most comfortable spaces. Equally, this provides clinical staff flexibility to select rooms which best suit their patients.
Following continual feedback from consultation events, we developed an enhanced package of wall graphics to create character and a calming atmosphere. As well as the Manchester Bee, the timber effect corner wayfinding panels frame a bespoke skyline graphic celebrating Manchester’s heritage which creates a contrast between the muted grey tones.
Sustainable lighting throughout the scheme compliments the interior design enhancing spaces through sensor operated and dimmable solutions in addition to graphical luminaires in group consultation rooms creating a sense of nature even from the most inner located rooms.
