Children's hospital 'best building'
Updated on 09 October 2008
A new multi-million pound children's hospital has been revealed as Britain's best public building.
The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton, East Sussex, was chosen from a 21-strong shortlist to win the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award.
Judges praised the hospital, known locally as the Alex, for its nautical theme with white concrete panels and bright bands of colour reflecting its seaside setting.
At the heart of the building is a light-filled central atrium providing a bright reception, and the 100 patient beds are arranged in single, two-bedded and four-bedded units, each with a sea view.
Furniture has been specially-designed for children and every in-patient bed has its own pull-out bed for a parent. Family accommodation on the top level includes en-suite bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and terraces.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "This award showcases what can be achieved when high-quality design is coupled with highly effective delivery. I hope that the Alex will prove to be an inspiration to other planners, developers and architects."
The hospital was opened in 1881 but in June 2007 it reopened at a new site, at the city's Royal Sussex County Hospital, with three times the floor space of the old hospital and double the number of beds.
The new PFI hospital was commissioned by the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and delivered by Kajima Partnerships with designers BDP.
John Sorrell, chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), said: "The new Alex is a people's palace and a sign of how far we have come.
"The quality of public buildings commissioned in Britain is now in a different league from the place we were 10 years ago."
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