£1.4m medical centre opens in Northamptonshire

Published: 8-Aug-2013

Despite losing contractor during development, facility is completed within budget

Despite the original contractor going into administration in the middle of building work, The Queensway Medical Centre in Northamptonshire has opened.

Behind schedule, but on budget, the 250sq m, two-storey building was designed by maber architects and has been constructed on the site of a former burnt-out pub in Wellingborough.

It sits in the heart of a residential area surrounded by roads and a low-rise shopping centre.

Traditional cavity wall construction with Trespa rain screen cladding on the first floor opens into a welcoming double-height, glazed atrium that houses the entrance lobby and waiting area. These look onto an internal courtyard, which the designers created because of the lack of scope for external landscaping.

It’s a totally new environment that will transform the patient experience

The new building houses a large GP practice and a pharmacy, both relocated from the surrounding area, with 17 consulting rooms, a minor operation room and staff facilities including a training area.

Architect Paul East, a director at maber, told BBH : “It’s a totally new environment – light, open, bright and cheerful – a complete contrast to the practice’s previous facilities. It will transform the patient experience.”

Carol Willis, practice manager at Queensway Medical Centre, added: “Doctors and staff are delighted with the new facilities. It has been hard work, but worth it. The whole team pulled together and we are now enjoying the outcome.”

The architects’ specialist interiors team, maber iD, selected furniture and worked with the client on branding including signage.

On maber’s advice, the original owner of the site, the now-defunct NHS primary care trust, also acquired neighbouring land from the local authority to allow additional room for a car park, which meant the designers did not have to compromise on space for patients.

There was unscheduled, two-month delay during the works when the contractors went into administration, and the site had to be secured while maber sought a replacement. This meant the project, which began in June 2012, was slightly late opening, but was still within a tight £1.4m budget.

The replacement construction company was Stepnell, while the structural engineers for the project was Curtins.

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