October 15 2018

Charlie House are championing plans for a palliative care centre in Aberdeen dedicated to supporting children with disabilities across the north east.

The charitable care provider has commissioned Cumming & Co with Optimised Environments to design a purpose-built facility that includes functional spaces for children and their families within a homely, inspiring and welcoming environment.

Earmarked for an undeveloped plot within the grounds of Woodend Hospital the development will employ brick to pick up on the heaviness of surrounding granite buildings.

In a statement Cumming & Co wrote: “This design attempts to fuse together ideas of building a domestic home with public presence without negative institutional associations.

“Modest mass of brick has domestic approachable scale with flashes of civic importance such as the entrance tower where the building will have a unique character to distinguish it from surrounding buildings.”

Taking the form of two wings connected by a central tower the care centre will be finished in Western Red Cedar cladding, zinc, grey brick and metal mesh.

9 Comments

#1 Posted by Omaha beach. on 15 Oct 2018 at 11:04 AM

Unbelievable.

#2 Posted by StyleCouncil on 15 Oct 2018 at 11:43 AM

Quite a surprisingly grim palette of materials for the type of buildings.
It looks miserable and almost menacing with the unrelenting swathes of hard, grey finishes …of which there are just too many.
I would have thought such a building should promote more joy, compassion and stimulation…but what do I know.

#3 Posted by FHM on 15 Oct 2018 at 11:50 AM

"David Macdonald, an architectural technologist at Cumming & Co, who produced the plans, said: “The distinctive character and design of the Charlie House building will complement the context but will fulfil less tangible needs such as triggering feelings of positive emotions and memories."

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/charlie-house-lodges-plans-for-new-multi-pound-centre-to-care-for-children-in-aberdeen1/

Ah, an AT designed this.

#4 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 15 Oct 2018 at 14:06 PM

You have to give it marks for effort but it looks to use complexity and clutter in place of clarity and style.

Plus the material pallete has all the longevity of Black Ash and Russet Brown.

I fear that the humble Nissan hut will age more gracefully.

#5 Posted by Ron Swanson on 15 Oct 2018 at 17:56 PM

A poor mans Nord / Ryder Bellahouston Hospice.

#6 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 17 Oct 2018 at 14:30 PM

#3 "Ah, an AT designed this."

An AT may indeed have worked on the projects and prepared the drawings, but Cumming & Co are an RIAS registered architects practice. So don't blame the AT, there are architects behind this.

And besides, are you seriously saying 'architect good, AT bad' ? - have you seen some of the architect-produced excrement on UR? You'll probably find the AT tried his best to dial down the horror when preparing the Revit images.

Ah, an architect designed this. And they should be ashamed of themselves for excreting these random drab slabs.

#7 Posted by cadmonkey on 17 Oct 2018 at 17:45 PM

#6
Ahem....What is the criteria for becoming an RIAS Registered practice?
Do you need a registered architect running it?

#8 Posted by Inahuf on 18 Oct 2018 at 05:59 AM

It’s no Robin House either! https://www.urbanrealm.com/buildings/103/Robin_House.html
Once again the folk of Aberdeen/shire are short changed by the incapacity of too many local firms to produce humane designs, an inability in clients to see what’s being proposed and demand better, and a planning system that keeps accepting this dross...

#9 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 18 Oct 2018 at 07:41 AM

#7 Yes. Cummings & Co have four.

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