Bath-based landscape architecture firm Grant Associates has played a key role in the design of one of Europe’s most advanced healthcare buildings.
The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH), pictured, which recently opened its doors in Birmingham, revolutionises healthcare delivery in the region, combining cutting-edge medical facilities with a restorative and sustainable landscape.
Grant Associates’ landscape vision for the hospital is centred on biophilic design – connecting people with nature to support both physical and mental health.
It draws on the canal-side location to feature expansive views onto courtyards, terraces and roof gardens, supporting a strong relationship between the interior and exterior and connecting what is a large building with its natural surroundings.
Key themes for the scheme include promoting active, healthy lifestyles, encouraging biodiversity and creating spaces that are welcoming, inclusive and therapeutic.
Sustainability is at the heart of the design – the landscape employs sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), using the blue network of local canals and water systems for both aesthetic and functional benefit.
Species-rich rain gardens form an integral part of the green infrastructure, managing surface water runoff while creating new homes for local wildlife.
Biodiverse roofs are also a key feature, designed to provide habitats for protected species, such as the black redstart, and support local biodiversity.
Grant Associates’ strategy ensures that the landscape is adaptive to climate change, with resilient planting typologies, sustainable irrigation solutions and planting that supports both wildlife and human activity.
The landscape has been designed to endure, with a 30-year management and maintenance plan in place to secure its longevity.
Among key features of Grant Associates’ landscape design are:
- The Green: A central green space the size of a cricket pitch, surrounded by landscaped beds, mature tree planting and pathways, offering opportunities for community events and informal recreation.
- The community garden: A growing garden includes fruiting trees, herb gardens, and natural play spaces.
- Canal-side walks: A new linear landscape along the Cape Arm features wetland habitats and tow path improvements creating a vibrant green space for both the hospital and local community to enjoy.
- Internal courtyards: A series of calm and green internal courtyards provide therapeutic spaces for patients and staff, promoting healing and well-being. The internal courtyards are viewed through adjacent glazing and from above – the layout and designs inspired by stained glass – a reference to the Smethwick area’s industrial heritage.
- External roof terraces: The Winter Garden, a spectacular architectural indoor space spanning five floors, represents a living heart for the hospital with natural light and views across Birmingham. It serves as a central hub for visitors, patients and staff, opening onto a sequence a roof terraces for external relaxation and reflection.
- Biodiverse roofs: These green roofs not only enhance the hospital’s environmental credentials but also create important habitats for wildlife, contributing to the hospital’s green infrastructure.
Grant Associates director Peter Chmiel said: “This is a landmark project for the West Midlands, offering state-of-the-art healthcare facilities within a landscape designed to foster health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability.
“We’re very proud to have played our part in designing an environment where nature is very much at the heart of modern healthcare.”
The hospital was designed by HKS, Cagni William and Sonnemann Toon Architects for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust,
Grant Associates is globally recognised for its environmentally driven work such as the iconic Supertrees and Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and, more recently, the Tower of London Superbloom project, part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations 2022.
It has also drawn up the overall landscape strategy for the Brabazon neighbourhood on the former Filton Airfield site in Bristol and, working with Bath architectural practice Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, has created a new central African forest habitat for some of the world’s most critically endangered species on Bristol Zoological Society’s Bristol Zoo Project site.
