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Innovation

Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation facility completed by LOM architecture and design

The new £15m Care and Rehabilitation Centre for people with additional needs in Leatherhead, Surrey UK, delivers residential accommodation for a neuro-rehabilitation service that fosters a strong connection with the surrounding woodland

by Georgina Johnston 28 September 2021 Sustainable Buildings

The new centre will enable the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation to provide expert, multidisciplinary neuro-rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions in a modern and comfortable environment. The 4,000 sq m building contains 48 ensuite bedrooms, a fully accessible physiotherapy gym, therapy rooms and recreation areas, dining and social spaces.

Based at its Woodlands Road campus in Leatherhead from the 30s, demand for the foundation’s services has grown substantially in recent years and delivery of the new centre will support the charity’s growth, as it builds capacity to meet the complex needs of its clients.

LOM architecture and design developed a site masterplan to consolidate their real estate requirements into a more sustainable, connected and purpose-built centre, and bring together the foundation’s expert, multidisciplinary teams under one roof. Planning permission was secured in September 2015 and construction of the Care and Rehabilitation Centre started on site in June 2018, with a brief to design the new building to evoke a sense of ‘home’ and make the most of its greenbelt, woodland setting. 

The two-storey, ‘Y’ shaped building has a pitched roof and is configured around a green quad and a more private client’s garden at the rear. It features a palette of traditional domestic building materials, brick, clay tile and timber, to reference local vernacular architecture and give a non-institutional appearance. The red clay tiles reflect the tones of the adjacent Leatherhead Court, the foundation’s head office. 

The quad is flanked by an external cloister providing a sheltered walkway around its perimeter. Double-height, Normandy grey brick piers are laid in a distinctive `hit and miss` arrangement to create dappled shade; these reveal glimpses of cedar cladding which adds warmth to the facades.

Large expanses of glazing frame views of the landscape and foster a connection with the natural environment. All the bedrooms look out over green spaces and key spaces, such as the two dining areas, are positioned with views across the quad towards the trees.

The building is designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ sustainability rating. It features passive ventilation ‘chimneys’ that allow the spaces to breathe; when CO² levels rise, the chimney’s louvres automatically open to purge the space. To minimise its carbon footprint and reduce running costs, stringent airtightness and insulation standards have been met to minimise heat loss through the building fabric. There are also 230 photovoltaic panels on the roof which will generate over 56,000 kWh of energy. 

The client’s bedrooms wrap around the private garden and connect to shared recreation, dining and social spaces. Mindful of the number of wheelchair users, circulation routes are generous and open out into communal areas. Therapy rooms are separated from the residential accommodation to create distinct ‘rest’ and ‘work’ environments and facilitate out-patient access to therapy areas. The 48 bedrooms are all ensuite and contain assistive technology to give clients greater control over their personal environments through the use of voice activation to assist with opening and closing blinds or turning the TV on and off without support.

The building’s light, airy internal spaces are influenced by biophilic principles. Woodland-inspired accent colours are used for furnishings such as blinds and acoustic baffles.


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