PFI Partner – Grosvenor House Group
Client – Tees,Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Contractors - BAM
Architect – Baily Garner
Capital Build - £18m

Impact were a part of the PFI bid team from the start with the aim being for art to be an integral part of the hospital. The artists were commissioned early in the project and they were involved at key stages of the building and landscape design. We also involved service users and staff in developing and producing the artwork.  

 

The Main Entrance

Binta Walia the lead artist worked closely with the architects and the trust to identify key themes which were developed at workshops with staff and service users. These themes include the circle of life and healing flower remedies.  Circular floral designs were applied to the Atrium glazing using a combination of diachroic glass and silk screen and the design was carried on through the reception foyer using vinyl manifestations applied to the walls.

 

The Faith Centre

Artist Keiko Mukaide was commissioned to produce the faith centre window.  Keiko developed work in the form of a tree of life, a symbol that often appears in folklore, different cultures and fiction. This tree relates to immortality or a can be a symbolic centre of our own mind to create a calm and relaxing mood to the quiet room within the faith centre.

 

Wayfinding

Binita Walia's watercolours which adorn the entrances to the adult and learning disability wards, physiotherapy and consulting suites are directly inspired from the discussions and mood boards created by the patients and staff during the workshops. These are handmade and the flash of colour is used to define the entrances along the corridor, linking them with the way finding signage around the building. This theme continues through the adult wards where the entrance watercolours are replicated on the nurses stations.

 

Central Courtyard

Keiko worked closely with the architects to create a specially designed circular pathway and seating area in the central courtyard. Once again, this follows the circle theme with a curved pathway and three curved corten steel and glass walls with spiral movement, which is lit up from inside the wall. To compliment this area there are glass rods set between bricks on the external wall of the faith centre, creating a focal point in the garden.

 

Gallery and Ward Artworks

Artist Emma Dunphy worked with service users who took part in a series of workshops and have produced paintings and prints for the main circular corridor gallery.  Photographer also worked with a group of adults with learning difficulties to photograph images from around the County Durham area, the results of which are displayed in the Adult Learning and disability Unit and within the main corridor Gallery. The displays are not static and will be refreshed and curated at various stages throughout the life of the building.