Building the Leeds Way latest news

New architects appointed to design Leeds Hospitals of the Future

The plan to build a new adults’ hospital and new home for Leeds Children’s Hospital has taken a major step forward with the appointment of new architects to design the buildings.

The Perkins & Will team, led by Penoyre & Prasad with Schmidt Hammer Lassen, have now been appointed as the preferred bidder and will design the new hospitals. Simon Worthington, LTHT Director of Finance and Senior Responsible Officer for the Hospitals of the Future project, said: “The competition process to appoint an architect was very strong with a number of international practices taking part which meant we received some exceptional concept designs. The Perkins and Will concept design is very exciting and will create a fantastic landmark for the hospital and the city of Leeds and we are delighted to be working with them to create the new hospitals.” The Perkins and Will concept has a link back to the inauguration of the original Leeds General Infirmary by Prince Albert in 1869 - a key aspect which included nature in the healing process by ensuring patients got plenty of light and air. Daylight, views, and greenery will be incorporated in the latest concept designs with their ability to help relieve stress and support recovery. The proposed designs will also improve the links to the natural environment to promote calm and restfulness throughout the hospital environment. Included in the new design will be a rooftop plaza with gardens boasting local plants and trees that will be inspired by the local landscape for patients and staff to enjoy. The concept design now needs to be developed further through a robust design development process involving a range of stakeholder inputs, including staff, patients and partners whilst working within new hospital design parameters.

Important visits to the new hospitals’ site

The Trust hosted two important visits to the Hospitals of the Future project – one in which Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, heard about the progress we’re making on the development of our two new hospitals – and another from Natalie Forrest, head of the government’s New Hospital programme. The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with Trust chair, Dame Linda Pollard, and Chief Executive, Julian Hartley, when they visited the demolition site at Leeds General Infirmary which is making way for the new hospital development. They heard from some of those clinicians and staff about what services are going into the new buildings and met some of the children who took part in our Daring Designers competition, explaining what they would like our new hospitals to look like.

The Building the Leeds Way team also hosted a visit from key figures in the Government’s New Hospitals Programme, at their offices in Park Lane in Leeds.

Natalie Forrest, Senior Responsible Officer for the Government’s New Hospitals Programme (NHP) and her team from the Department of Health and Social Care, were given an update on the Trust’s development schemes. After being welcomed by the Trust’s Chair, Dame Linda Pollard, and Chief Executive Julian Hartley, the NHP team had an overview of the Trust’s new Hospitals of the Future programme, the Future Pathology project and the LGI Development and Innovation Pop-up – all components of the Building the Leeds Way programme – before touring the development site. Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of LTHT said: “It was great to see our Building the Leeds Way Programme Director, Mike Bacon, and his team outlining the considerable progress we’ve already made. “In turn Natalie Forrest briefed us on the government’s New Hospitals Programme, part of the largest hospital-building project in a generation, and it was both fascinating and very informative to hear from those responsible for delivering the programme across the UK.” Natalie Forrest said she and her New Hospital Programme colleagues were delighted to meet with the team in Leeds. “Our shared aim is to transform the delivery of healthcare infrastructure in order to provide state-of-the-art facilities for staff and patients in Leeds,” she said. “I look forward to continuing our close work with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the new hospital schemes progress.”