Elgin & Appin Ward (Stobhill Mental Health Estate)

The new Stobhill Mental Health Estate was conceived during a time where the understanding of the pressure on mental health services throughout the UK was growing. As part of their wider mental health services strategy (NHS GG+C) proposed to re-provide a 20-bed adult facility (AAU) to replace existing facilities at Parkhead Hospital, and a 20-bed elderly ward (CCC) that would replace an element of the bed capacity at Birdston Nursing Home. Both were to be supplemented with associated staff and clinical support spaces, and as part of a new facility on a cleared site. Keppie were selected as designers for the project following a competitive process run by Hub West. A key aspiration for the project was to provide welcoming and non-clinical spaces that enhance the dignity of their occupants, while addressing the procedural, operational and brief requirements as outlined by NHS GG+C. These points have formed a starting point for the design of the buildings from the beginning, influencing all key decisions from site arrangement to material choices and finishes.The building strategy closely follows the site and spatial adjacencies requirements, with the service user and staff + operational zones clearly separated by secure lines, beyond which visitors become invited guests. Day spaces are grouped directly adjacent to external green space, with the larger volumes of the main sitting and dining areas facing East to maximise ingress of beneficial morning light. Views back to the day spaces encourages service users to leave their bedroom.The unique facility – now known as the Elgin & Appin Wards - seeks to foster social inclusion by delivering rehabilitation, discharge and recovery services which promote independence and self-reliance.Delivered through the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the single-story wards are planned around safe, calming courtyards framing views of an existing Victorian water tower.Response to the Elgin & Appin Wards at Stobhill has been universally positive with the project being named Healthcare Development of the Year at the recent Scottish Property Awards.