The construction is being undertaken by Simons Group, whose team has been preparing the site since January. As an associate member of the Considerate Contractors’ Scheme, Simons has already shown that it works to high standards.
Welcoming the start of the construction of the new hospital, Maxine Estop, the hospital’s director commented: ‘This is a very exciting time for all of us at the Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital, as we have been planning for the new hospital for so long. To see Simons preparing the site to such a high standard and now starting construction with concern for, and awareness of, our patients, consultants, employees and neighbours makes us appreciate just how professional a team they are.’
In turn, Simons is finding the project much to their liking.
Tim Green, Project Manager for Simons, said, “We welcome the prospect of building this prestigious new-build hospital for Nuffield in the historic city of Cambridge. The team have settled into their surroundings incredibly well and are thoroughly enjoying working with Nuffield and the consultation team. It is our intention to keep the local community up to date with our progress on site. To date we have successfully completed the enabling works and look forward to the challenging works ahead in delivering this advanced facility.”
The finished hospital, however, will be more than an entity supplying the latest treatments and using advanced technologies in their delivery. Maxine Estop is committed too to those more traditional ways of caring for patients and the staff. Plans for the final layout of the grounds show clearly how much space will be given over to trees, greenery and quiet around the new hospital, ensuring physical and environmental surroundings that support and refresh a person’s wellbeing during recovery, or at the end of a long working shift. Maxine Estop again:
‘Nowadays, with the ever-growing need for car parking, so few city sites are able to provide green surroundings. There will be as much parking space available as before around the new hospital, however canopies of trees are planned wherever possible, to shield the tarmac from view and to add to the mature trees that already grace the site. Lawn and under-plantings of shrubs will further enhance the visual tranquillity.’
This sense of wellbeing for the hospital extends in Maxine Estop’s thinking to include the public art programme being sponsored by Nuffield Health as part of the hospital construction and as required by the City planners.
The artist selected for the central role in the public art programme is Simon Faithfull, and his submission to the selection committee* demonstrated an empathy towards patients as they wait anxiously for treatment or diagnosis that earned the committee’s respect immediately. The artist’s vision, like The Nuffield’s, encompasses the wellbeing of those who will use the hospital.
Simon Faithfull’s plans for developing the art will begin to emerge in the early summer, when it is hoped he will be available personally to define the final plan for his artwork as agreed between himself and Nuffield Health.
While Simon Faithfull’s work will become a permanent part of the new hospital, Maxine Estop has lost no time in opening up the public-art programme to other participants. Thus it is that this week, as construction begins, the Simons’ pristine hoardings around the site are hosting the first of two art projects created by children of St Faith’s School, the Nuffield’s close neighbour. Bold and colourful interpretations of the school’s emblem appear as huge panels that run the length of the hoardings, and it is hoped that members of the public will walk through the hospital grounds and enjoy what the children have created. This is just the first of a whole series of displays by local and regional artists planned to appear over the coming year for Cambridge residents to enjoy, with further public art to come as part of the final landscaping after the hospital is completed.
‘What is so positive about these projects’, says Maxine Estop, ‘is that the Simons construction team are as enthusiastic about the art as we are. There will be a great deal of activity going on around the construction of our new hospital, which we hope Cambridge residents will enjoy.’
Note *The selection committee, convened by Guy Noble, the public-art adviser to the Nuffield Health Hospital Cambridge, comprised, as well as himself and the City Council Art Officer, Maxine Estop, a Consultant and a member of staff from the hospital, and neighbours representing the two local residents’ associations. Guy Noble lives in Cambridge.
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For any further information, please contact Margaret Phillips on hmp@phillipsprofile.co.uk or on 01223 846 955 / 01638 500 311 or on 07710 021889
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