The Paul Sykes Urology Centre is a state of the art building providing a centralised inpatient, daycare and outpatient facility within a single building. It is located within the grounds of St. James University Hospital in Leeds.
The site identified by the hospital was a narrow strip of sloping land between two adjacent hospital wings. The nature of the site generated a linear building form with only a portion of the northern elevation visible from street level. This generated the building’s signature ‘kick-up’ roof, which provides the building with a much needed point of focus – amongst the bland context.
Whilst the form of the building is very different to its neighbours, the palette of materials is red brickwork with a Portland artstone base to compliment existing buildings.
Internally, Garnett Netherwood attempted to design out some of the institutional aspects of hospitals and health care facilities. The first floor corridors are naturally top lit by barrel vaulted roof lights, whilst below extensive use has been made of uplighters to produce a more diffuse light whilst still achieving the required luminence. The use of colour was also key to the internal design strategy, as was the use of etched glass block walls to allow more daylight into some of the deeper spaces.