Graham Construction together with Archial Architects have gone underground with a striking design for a new £10.5 million pioneering world-class centre for veterinary medicine situated at the entrance to the grounds of the Garscube Estate, Glasgow.
Part of the University of Glasgow’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the new Small Animal Hospital provides state of the art services for animal owners and referring practitioners throughout Scotland and Northern England, including the most advanced diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical techniques.
One of the chief concerns when conceiving the design for this facility was how to create a large hospital building without ruining the beautiful green space for which the Garscube Estate is renowned. Essentially, the solution involved lifting up the ground, peeling off the grass and placing the new building underneath.
Since various aspects of the new facility did not require natural light - much of its 4500 sq m involves internal spaces such as the treatment area, oncology and diagnostics - this design solution was able to meet the needs of the hospital whilst maintaining the integrity of the location. The apex lighting control system is controlled by a single control room to manage the energy needs centrally. Energy can then be monitored and measured with targets set to reduce. Movement sensors, installed in each of the facility’s rooms, track movements and shuts down energy demand after 30 minutes of no movement.
In order to let daylight in to public areas, an innovative ‘crystal’ glass cupola, lit with different colours at night, sits within the building’s sloping grass roof.
Whilst the innovative design affords medical staff unrestricted views out over the grassy bank, the building’s public space comprises a waiting area, reception island and café beneath the glass cupola where staff and visitors can see out onto the roof. Behind this public space is a social space with access out onto the grass roof, which anyone can walk across. The greenroof comprises a mix of grass and wildflower species that will attract and enhance local biodiversity and increase the outdoor experience of this innovative and sustainable feature.
Contracts Manager, James Mulroy, expressed his delight in being involved in such a state of the art facility that is leading the way in global veterinary research. He stressed the pride felt by the whole team with the prestigious finished product. The client is overjoyed with the facility that stands out as a real flagship building that blends in with the unspoilt and rural 92 acre surrounding parkland.
The natural look of the new Small Animal Hospital is completed with stone-filled gabion baskets, lending the building a deliberately solid and heavy base, emphasising the driving idea of roof and ground.
At the handover meeting, Professor Stuart Carmichael and Dr Calum Paterson of the University confirmed how delighted they were with the new facility and thanked Graham Construction – in particular the Site Manager involved for the hard work and quality of the building being delivered.