4 minute read
Thames Hospice
View of rerouted stream passing through the hospice to Bray Lake. Bridges connect patients, staff and visitors with the fluvial landscape and seasonal change. © Ståle_Eriksen
Typology: Palliative care | Location: Maidenhead
Nature and seasonality shape the design philosophy of this wetland hospice landscape
Thames Hospice adjoins a variety of rural landscape typologies including flood plain, former gravel extraction pits, residential woodland, fields and a highway. Each of these edges has been embraced and drawn into the hospice, helping to ‘dissolve’ the sense of boundary, enclosure and territory.
In developing the masterplan with the client, KKE Architects and our engineers, Price & Myers, we shaped the site’s topography, watercourse and layout to translate the flood risk into a design strategy that embraced the fluvial environment: a complex task that demanded close working with our client team to ensure the full understanding and potential of this approach.
Churchman Thornhill Finch promoted this vision, which was supported by technical engineers, planners at Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead as Lead Local Flood Authority, and the Environment Agency, to secure approval and realise the full potential of the site. Stormwater management and flood compensation were provided through the site levels and parking strategy, with a stream rerouted to pass through the hospice, and water shed from the site attenuated within the parking area before being discharged to the lake.
The sense of peace and freedom offered by this unique wetland landscape is, we hope, of profound value to patients. Equally important is what it offers to staff, carers, and visitors, helping them cope with the day-to-day rigours of caring in an environment of bereavement and healing. Bridges within the grounds provide a direct visual and physical connection to this waterscape, prompt allegorical reflection, and serve to subtly separate care functions within the facility.
For us, a hospice garden should balance the tradition of the garden as a place of retreat and meditation with its references to the transience of life (through the expression of seasonality). The garden emphasises the health-giving properties of the natural world through a realisation that we are part of nature and are surrendering to the natural world, giving a sense of solace to patients.
Wildflower meadows have been sown extensively across the site to gently transition into the water’s edge of Bray Lake. An open hedge and woodland edge transitions to existing woodland and residential properties along London Road. Deciduous broad-leaf planting to the south has been reinforced and extended into the site with scattered groups of new woodland plantings that enhance habitat value and create a healthier, more complex edge. Swales, streams and pools criss-cross the landscape and have enabled a host of marginal planting zones to be created.
Rich planting palettes, including nectar-rich species, and restored native habitats at the lake’s edge become more ornamental and floral toward the heart of the hospice. In this way, nature is drawn close and offers an ever-changing seasonal landscape.
Andrew Thornhill CMLI is a Director at Churchman Thornhill Finch
Thames Hospice blends built form and landscape, creating a serene and supportive environment for patients and their families. The design team approached the project with sensitivity to the site’s natural features, particularly the interaction with the adjacent lake and a culvert running through the property. The landscape plays a key role, with the hospice nestled into its surroundings, allowing nature to form a peaceful backdrop to the spaces within.
The brief was to create spaces that enhance the experience of all stakeholders, while ensuring the organisation of these spaces reflected the latest research in healthcare and hospice environments. This process involved numerous consultation sessions with clinical teams, facilities staff and patients to understand the building’s flow, maximise its potential, and emphasise the importance of community and social support that it provides to the wider community.
The building’s mass has been broken down into smaller, domestic-scale structures, connected by courtyards and garden spaces. This creates a homely atmosphere, offering patients privacy and comfort, while avoiding the institutional feel of a larger facility. The human-scale design promotes a sense of calm and dignity for those receiving care.
Kyle Fowler is an Architect at KKE Architects
