Cues from cathedral design

The proposed £13 million Akerman Road Primary Care Centre health centre has been designed by architects Buschow Henley for NHS LIFT developer Building Better Health, Lambeth PCT’s private sector partner. It will provide three GP surgeries, community dentistry, children’s services, podiatry, midwifery, primary care, and community health services and facilities, and be the base for Lambeth PCT’s nursing teams. Buschow Henley has designed the building to create a calm, therapeutic healthcare environment, an exemplary staff working environment, and for ease of adaptability. Its design “takes its cue from the massing of a cathedral (nave, crossing and choir), and the order of a flat-fronted London terrace”. The fourstorey free-standing structure faces a local park and three streets. Designed to achieve an excellent BREEAM assessment, the building employs a compact plan, low surface area, thermal mass (concrete frame), green/ brown roofs, biomass boilers, and natural ventilation, and achieves a daylight factor of 4%.