building - introduction

A building sensitive to the direction of light and the seasons

“This purpose-built, fifteen bed hospital, which incorporates a therapy garden and art installations is a place of calm, light and healing. A superb project incorporating creativity within tight controls and a fine example for future healthcare buildings to emulate.”

Citation in Scottish Enterprise’s ‘Dynamic Place Awards’ 2002

Designed by architects Macmon, Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital is an award-winning project that has more than satisfied the original creative brief:

“to create a place of beauty and healing”

Patients in a hospital should not be intimidated by their surroundings, which is why the architects have taken great care to ensure that the building is not only as attractive as possible but sits perfectly within its physical landscape. Integrating the needs of Homoeopathic, orthodox and complementary medicine under one roof presented certain challenges. However, the architects have more than risen to the task.

The building has been designed as an elegant L-shaped structure that surrounds a delightfully landscaped South and West facing garden. This not only serves to break up the sense of institutional regularity, but also draws the natural world into the healing environment. In choosing materials, Macmon – and later Jane Kelly, the lead artist – placed great importance on selecting natural, recyclable and environmentally friendly materials, to enhance the largely organic, non angular feel of the building, as called for in the brief. The floors and blinds are wooden; the roof is made of recyclable zinc; real lino is used for floor covering, and chairs and sofas are made of cane or non-allergenic leather. This remarkable attention to detail has suffused the design process right down to the door handles, light fittings and coloured glass used for patients’ bathroom windows.

Though the final effect is a stunning building that more resembles a luxury retreat than a standard hospital, the final cost per square metre is no more than that of a conventional NHS structure and the Hospital satisfies all modern healthcare standards and requirements. In short, it’s a hospital with a heart.

To find out more about how the Hospital was designed and built, follow the navigation links on the left and top of this page.