Art, Heritage and Design Review: RNHRD & Brownsword Therapies Centre

Art, Heritage & Design Review: RNHRD & Brownsword Therapies Centre

“I am heartened by the genuine care, expertise and pride the RUH have shown in making the new facility as much like home as they could.� Patient

Art and design in the built environment is core to the organisation’s objectives, and Art at the Heart of the RUH (AATH) plays a vital role in a number of on-going capital projects across the hospital.

We have completed several arts, heritage and design projects for large scale new builds and expansions of services as part of the RUH’s 10 year re-development programme; most recently artwork for MRI scanners and waiting areas in Radiology and a new Spiritual Care Centre.

The Mineral Water Hospital, also known as ‘The Min’ or the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, (RNHRD) was situated in the centre of Bath in a building that no longer met modern day clinical needs. In 2017, plans proceeded for the building to be sold, with its clinical services and research programme to move and merge with the RUH’s acute therapies services to create the new combined RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre.

(RNHRD&BTC) The Mineral Water Hospital opened in 1737, and was the first national hospital in England. Over almost three centuries, it has earned the reputation as a leading centre for the treatment and research of rheumatic diseases and long term pain management.

It also holds an impressive collection of historical artefacts ‘The Min’ Pediment and artworks, including fifteen 18th Century portraits; many by Bath society portrait artist William Hoare. They represent key figures of Bath who were also involved in the founding of the Min, including Ralph Allen, Beau Nash and the founding doctor and physician of the hospital Dr Oliver and Mr Peirce.

Mineral Water Hospital Artefacts are displayed in the new ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’

Dr Oliver and Mr Peirce Examining Patients with Rheumatism, Leprosy and Paralysis, 1761 by William Hoare

The Brief ‘The Min’ was a much loved hospital and building with a unique environment, and is held in fond regard by generations of patients and the local population. The new centre would provide 21st Century care, and through the sensitive use of art and design we sought to ensure that its valuable artworks and heritage would be preserved for future generations to come. AATH worked closely with local historians, galleries and museums, and volunteer historians who sourced much of the content for our heritage projects.

There are important medical and historical artefacts belonging to the hospital which needed to be assessed for treatment. Funding was secured, and the artefacts relocated to the RUH or museums within the city of Bath; a daunting but fascinating task!

A conservator of 18th Century oil paintings, Sarah Cove, undertook condition reports of the portraits, Portrait of the Treasurer, Daniel Danvers and following on her recommendations the RUH

by William Hoare displayed in agreed to have many of the paintings conserved; ‘Image Control’ Exhibition, 2019 at this meant that the majority could be relocated to No.1 Royal Crescent the RNHRD&BTC for permanent display. Museum grade acrylic glazing was used to protect the paintings from environmental damage (including light damage), and also to meet with infection control and fire risk standards required in a modern clinical setting.

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Portrait of the 1st Apothecary Mr John Morris before treatment

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Sarah Cove carrying out restoration work to the frame with the conserved portrait completed in the background

We supported Bath Medical Museum’s relocation from the Min to Great Pulteney Street GP Surgery, retaining some key smaller artefacts, the ‘Surgeon’s Boards’, marble Bust of Ralph Allen and ten portraits. One fragile portrait is on loan to Victoria Art Gallery and the very large Tavern Clock that hung in the Min’s entrance is now on loan to Bath Museum at Work.

We worked closely with the architect IBI Group and their Interior design team to create distinct zones and focal points through the use of colour, pattern, texture and artworks, whilst providing a sense of continuity and coherency throughout the building.

Mood and Concept Boards

AATH was part of the Project team, which was led by RUH Capital Projects and RNHRD & Therapies leads, IBI Architects and Kier Construction RNHRD&BTC. We took part in RUH public and staff engagement events at both hospitals, and also at Bath Racecourse where core themes were presented, discussed and agreed. These themes centred on Bath’s connection to the thermal healing waters, Bath’s medical and cultural history and sense of place.

‘Flow’ was agreed as a key theme – the waters that course through our city, as well as the act of rehabilitation itself through therapy and the freeing of movement required for a patient’s recovery. We also learnt of patient sensitivities specific to pain, for example to avoid strong repetitive pattern that can over stimulate patients.

RNHRD Heritage and Design We then commissioned artists and designers to interpret these core concepts, taking inspiration from the RNHRD’s collection of artefacts and paintings.

The Rheumatology Department, which was based at the Min, has a separate entrance and this is where our main design and heritage projects for the RNHRD would be situated. The original Surgeon’s Boards are at the main entrance, and the large conserved portrait of Dr Oliver and Mr Peirce Examining Patients hangs in the Waiting Room, along with the portrait Richard (Beau) Nash and the life size marble Bust of Ralph Allen.

RNHRD Waiting Room

A long curved corridor to the clinic rooms presented a challenge: We couldn’t install historic portraits here! Instead, we used them as inspiration for designer Jose Mendoza to create two bespoke wallpapers.

The Cabinets of Curiosity display some of the Min’s most treasured artefacts, including brass badges worn by patients The Curved Corridor and a beautiful cast iron mortar and pestle, used by the 1st Apothecary William Morris. We produced vinyl italic lettering along the opposite side of the curved corridor, transcribing original entries from the first Patients admissions Log, many of these were written by Dr Oliver himself.

“My favourite piece of artwork is the Cabinets of Curiosities which cleverly line the main corridor of the Outpatient department of the RNHRD with glass covered boxes containing various historical artefacts from the old Mineral Water Hospital. The pieces selected make our patients and staff smile on the way to their appointments and really brings to life all the rich history of the Min that we continue to cherish as we move forwards in our new ultramodern environment."

Dr Ellie Korendowych, consultant rheumatologist and medical director

Heritage panels for the RNHRD are displayed outside Rheumatology.

Further along this corridor we recognise Bath WW1 Head of Therapies, Gina Sargent shows the RNHRD panels Hospital, erected in to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall 1916 and the first hospital to exist at Combe Park. This project was funded by the Heritage Lottery’s WW1 Remembered Fund in 2016 to commemorate 100 years since its opening. ‘Q Block’ accommodated ground-breaking therapies and rehabilitation; many of the methods are still used by current teams today.

Participatory artist led workshops with RNHRD residential and outpatients Our artist in residence, Edwina Bridgeman, led workshops for RNHRD patients. Their beautiful artworks can be viewed on the ground floor alongside the heritage displays and also in the patient accommodation building at Bernard Ireland House.

“Because of the Min’s association with water we looked at the routes patients and staff would have taken had they travelled to Bath via waterways. Patients arrive from all over the country and plotting routes on the map has been a great starting point. I supplied a large sheet of calico on which to start.

We have cut stencils, sprayed fabric paint, stitched, made felt, painted and printed all around the theme of water and water ways.”

Working with both staff and patients has been a real joy. The project is well underway and each week we are excited to see the progress made.” Edwina Bridgeman The Hydrotherapy Pool

Map produced by residential patients for Bernard Ireland House

The hydrotherapy pool glazed artwork by Christopher Tipping occupies 2 external walls which are floor-to-ceiling glazed apertures with a combined area of 46.40 sq. m of glass. The north elevation needed to provide privacy from the public, and views through the east elevation look out onto a ‘secret’ garden with views to the hills and sky beyond. Both hospital sites were originally set in and adjacent to open fields and expansive views of countryside, it is easy to imagine how beneficial this must have been to those patients and staff who first experienced this.

For his brief, Christopher made connections between place, historic legacy and hydrotherapy practice. His imaginary landscape is populated with recognisable motifs, such as flowers, deer and trees, woven together with abstract forms and repeating patterns. Local landmarks, such as Kelston Round Hill, also feature, as do references to the architectural decoration and built heritage of The Min and its archaic Roman Mosaics.

The connection to hot springs and flowing waters has shaped Bath into the World Heritage site we see today. The most visible motif in Christopher’s design is water and ‘Flow’; more explicitly: The gestural movement of water as shaped by those taking treatment in the hydrotherapy pool. Christopher recalled: ‘I was offered a session at the hydrotherapy pool at The Min as a way of understanding a little more about the impact of water as a treatment.’ Abstractions of steam or mist appear to hover in this landscape. Water is contained within a bowl or pool. An elegant but dynamic abstract splash drifts across the face of the East Screen. Water is by turns fluid and abstract, vaporous & ephemeral.

The final artwork was translated to glass in collaboration with Proto Glass Studios based in Pewsey, Wiltshire. Highly skilled techniques of etching, sandblasting and screen-printed ceramic colour kiln fired onto the glass were used on an architectural scale.

The artwork is applied to the two inner faces of a doubleglazed sealed unit. As a result, there is a subtle overlaying of motifs in the final work, which means that the artwork is slightly different as seen from the interior than the exterior.

Hydrotherapy Pool Glazed Walls

by Christopher Tipping

Geographical Timeline: Bath Thermal Waters A 6 meter long Geographical Timeline by artist and designer Ross Bennett is integrated into the external north façade of the building.

The Timeline base is made from Corian. Hand blown kiln-cast blue glass runs through the centre of the piece and follows a geographically accurate terrain line of the journey that the waters are believed to take. Falling first as rain on the Mendips, then, after being heated and accruing their unique set of minerals on the way, emerges 2,000 years later from hot thermal springs under the city of Bath.

The clusters of ‘bubbles’ in the piece materially references historic uses of the water, from the legendary discovery of the springs by Prince Bladud in the Celtic era, the extensive Roman activity based around the waters, through to the foundation of the Royal Mineral Water Hospital in the 18th century, and the continued use of the waters for therapeutic benefits today.

Sample bubbles: including Gold leaf, Silver leaf, Mahogany, Pine, Bath Stone and Leather.

The materials include: pig leather (in reference to Bladud’s pigs, who helped him to discover the waters), pewter (to reference the curse tablets the Romans threw into the springs), gilt-bronze (honouring the head of Sulis-Minerva found in the Roman Bath’s complex), brass (acknowledging the patient badges worn by the original patients at the Mineral Water Hospital), Bath stone (marking the donation of stone by Ralph Allen to build the hospital), Devonshire marble (concerning construction of the chapel during the expansion of the hospital in the 19th century), and oak, bakelite and stainless steel (referencing surgical used within the hospital throughout the 20th century and up to the present day).

Maquette of the Geographical Timeline

Circulation Areas and Therapy Rooms The three storey building is interconnected by long lengths of corridor. This provided us with an opportunity to enliven the patient and staff journey with displays of artwork and heritage, whilst also helping patients to find their way around the building.

Fifty bespoke large framed graphic prints by Andy Goodman run along both the ground and first floor corridors and therapy rooms. The intention of the commission was to sensitively motivate with a tasteful touch of humour!

Discussions with staff were instrumental in creating the overall look and feel for Andy’s work, making for a positive and engaging environment. Colourful graphic posters, positioned throughout the new building, reflect our everyday lives both physically and mentally. They often feature a play on words or puns and use simplistic figure, bold colours and a little humour to raise spirits, whilst representing the centre’s location in Bath and its overall goal: To be a centre of excellence.

‘Ironing out the Creases’ – Entrance to the Adult Disability Learning Kitchen

Artworks by Andy Goodman for the Patient Therapy Rest Room

‘Welcome’ - The Adult Disability Learning Room

Corridors above leading to the Hydrotherapy suite and gym

Waiting Rooms: Brownsword Therapies Centre Peter Brown is a Bath based artist, known locally as ‘Pete the Street’, preferring to paint ‘en plein air’. He can be found painting our local streets and city’s perimeters, often capturing the foulest of weathers!

Working in charcoal, oils and pastel, he has received numerous awards at various national exhibitions. Peter is also a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal institute of Oil Painters, the Pastel Society, Bath Society of Artists and an honorary member of the Royal Society of British Artists.

Peter Brown kindly allowed Art at the Heart the unique opportunity to select and produce fifteen giclee prints of his work.

Staff Area Staff, as well as patients and visitors, benefit from a welldesigned and attractive workplace.

Artwork and feature wallpapers were included in the centre’s design for staff areas, where approximately 200 staff are based. Staff wanted to create a very different identity in their areas; one which feels vibrant and contemporary, but also offers a calm workplace enhanced by stunning views from the large windows across to Beckford Tower on Lansdown.

Thirty vibrant ‘Pop’ digital portraits of film and music stars

by Jason Dorley-Brown’s are displayed in staff corridors, offices, meeting rooms, and the open plan working Hub. Some of these were already in existence and some were created especially for the centre. The feature wallpapers and colour scheme compliments the artworks very well, and this area feels quite different to patient areas.

Jason Dorley-Brown’s Pop Art Prints and Staff Meeting Room/ Head Office Area

Summary Overall, we have commissioned and installed approximately 150 new permanent arts and heritage works.

It’s widely recognised that inclusion of the arts and good design in healthcare eases anxiety, stress, depression and pain. The RUH’s approach ensured that the building and clinical care is enhanced, offering an exceptional level of care for patients and creating an inspiring space for staff to work in.

The RUH Capital budget, along with funds raised by The Forever Friends Appeal, supported the arts heritage and design programme. The Friends of the Min and Bath Institute for Rheumatic Diseases generously funded the creation and framing of patient’s artworks.

We would like to thank the local organisations and individuals who generously gave their time to this project: Bath Records Office, B&NES Heritage Services, Bath Medical Museum, Victoria Art Gallery, No 1 Royal Crescent Museum, Friends of the Min, Bath Museum at Work and Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution.

The RNHRD&BTC project took two years from inception to completion in October 2019 and was officially opened by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall in the autumn of 2019.

Feedback

RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre Official Opening: Artist Christopher Tipping presents his glazed artwork to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in the Hydro Therapy Pool area

"All the staff at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases would like to thank Art at the Heart for the fantastic work they have done to visually transform our new building and make it feel like 'home'. It has been difficult for many staff and patients to leave the beautiful historic surroundings of the Mineral Water Hospital and we were all so thrilled and delighted with the way the RUH art team (AATH) had successfully incorporated the history and culture of the 'Min' into our new building.”

Dr Ellie Korendowych, consultant rheumatologist and medical director

“I have been a patient at the Min since 1988 (31 years!) and can I just say what an amazing experience yesterday was at the new RNHRD! The building looks amazing! Loved the pics and wall quotes in the sweeping corridor.

Very exciting new era for us arthritic sparrows!”

Patient

“It’s very impressive and very heartening that the memory of the Min is being preserved in such an elegant and well thought out way.”

Patient

“I am heartened by the genuine care, expertise and pride the RUH have shown in making the new facility as much like home as they could.

The famous William Hoare painting of Dr Oliver’s patients now greets us as we enter the building whose door is guarded by the coat of arms.

Wherever we look there are familiar paintings, their eighteenth century faces and gilded frames beautifully restored. But the crowning glory is the thrilling stained glass by Christopher Tipping that enlivens our spirit as we enter the amazing new pool area.”

George Odam, RNHRD patient and previous Chair: Friends of the Min

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall with Senior RNHRD Staff at the Official Opening: Painting on permanent display in the Rheumatology waiting room entrance

Contact Details Art and Design Manager, Hetty Dupays hetty.dupays@nhs.net or Tel: 01225 825558 Art at the Heart of the RUH Estates and Facilities Directorate Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Combe Park Bath, BA1 3NG Charity no. 1058323 More information about the arts and heritage projects for RNHRD&BTC and other art commissions towards the RUH North redevelopment can be viewed on our website: artatruh.org/art-in-the-environment/

Friends of the Min (RNHRD)