Competition winning scheme to provide a new 35 bed residential care home in the historic village of Greatham near Hartlepool.

 

The project formed a 3 sided courtyard looking south towards woodland. In order to reduce the mass of the building it was designed to resemble a series of traditional smaller houses, which step down the hillside in order to further reduce the apparent size of the scheme.

 

Internally the building was designed on a human scale; corridors were varied in width, with seating places adjacent to windows overlooking the surrounding farmland. Rooms were collected into smaller groups of 6 or 7 to provide a community atmosphere within each group.

 

Each bedroom had en-suite facilities. Those on the ground floor had patio doors opening out onto the central courtyard. Those on the upper floors had French balconies to connect to the courtyard or additional windows providing selected views over the surroundings.

 

The scheme included room controlled under floor heating and central ventilation system. This provides the residents a degree of control over their environment and prevents an institutional feel in the building.

 

The project also included the refurbishment of the existing grade 2 listed accommodations. This was upgraded to provide a new site office and 5 apartments. A day centre was included, providing a café and activities for the new care home and local population on the site.