Step Exhibitions
Salus Ward, Torbay Hospital
Nominee Information
Salus Ward at Torbay Hospital is a new 16-bed adult acute psychiatric inpatient unit. It is due to begin admitting patients within the next few months.
The design efficiently and sensitively arranges day spaces, clinical rooms and staff accommodation on a narrow and steeply sloping site constrained by proximity to existing hospital buildings. The stepped form and use of a range of complementary cladding materials visually breaks up the building’s massing and ensures it has a human, non-institutional scale.
Principles to enhance wellbeing of both staff and patients include maximising natural light and outdoor connections through two generous courtyards at the centre of the scheme, and the optimisation of circulation to create a compact ward that is easy to navigate and has good sightlines throughout. The team worked hard to design the journey through the building to create variety and a meaningful sense of progression for patients. For example, a glazed link between the secure ward and therapy zone (comprising a large activity hub, ADL kitchen and gym) provides inpatients with a glimpse of the surroundings and a sense of ‘going somewhere’.
Despite being ‘landlocked’ within a densely built-up hospital estate, the design manages to create a strong connection to the external landscape without privacy or overlooking issues. A key contribution from service user engagement was that rather than just having a single courtyard, a range of different outdoor spaces should be provided for greater patient choice. The building is therefore arranged around two safe and private gardens admitting plentiful daylight and fresh air throughout the ward. A large courtyard adjacent to the open-plan day space offers opportunities for therapy activities and games, while a smaller garden at the heart of the bedroom zone is a calm, quiet space with seating amid lush planting. That this quality of external space could be achieved on such a steep site with a suspended frame construction is a testament to the excellent collaboration between the client/service users, landscape architect, structural engineer and architect.
Occupants also gain a connection with the wider landscape through carefully planned views out to Dartmoor, which can be seen both from the large courtyard and from patient bedrooms. Service user engagement was key to the successful design of the bedrooms, identifying the benefit of adding a comfortable bay window seat to both make the most of the views
and provide a space for 1-1 patient and staff interactions.
Salus Ward is designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards, it features efficient sustainable technologies and a robust envelope specification to minimise the unit’s operational carbon footprint. The highly adaptable lightweight steel frame construction allows for future flexibility, should operational policies change over time. Flexibility has also been built in through well-designed ‘swing’ bedroom corridors to cater to a wide range of different male/female patient ratios.
This project demonstrates that it is possible to develop a high-quality facility for recovery, on a very restricted urban site without compromising either on clinical functionality, safety, security, or on the therapeutic qualities of the interior and exterior design.
