Blackburn Partnership Centre

Hoskins Architects was commissioned to design Blackburn Partnership Centre in West Lothian to bring together a range of primary care and community services for both NHS Lothian and West Lothian Council. Prior to completion of the new building, services were being operated from a variety of premises in the village that were reaching the end of their serviceable life and were no longer suited for effective service delivery. The new centre offers the community a range of co-located services delivered within a modern, purpose-built facility. The project was delivered by Hub South East and built by Graham Construction Ltd.

Arranged over two floors, the 3,000 m2 centre was designed to combine a library, sports hall, community centre, early years centre, youth centre with a GP surgery on the ground floor, with a new General Dental Practice and support spaces on the first floor.

At the western end, the building entrance/reception, NHS waiting space and reading areas overlook a newly created public square which connects the building with the adjacent Mill Centre shopping centre, at the heart of the village. Individual departments are arranged around a central, double-height internal street which is open-plan to the library. Consulting rooms look out onto a private courtyard at the rear and the early years centre has a dedicated garden to the east of the building.

The main material used to clad the building is a pale ‘tumbled’ brick which has a mix of dark grey and buff with a light-coloured mortar. Large areas of curtain walling and timber define the entrance and publicly accessible rooms at the front of the building.

The building achieved BREEAM ‘Excellent’ at design stage and incorporates roof mounted photovoltaic panels. The project welcomed users in autumn 2017.