Grange Hospital

2021

Situated at the edge of Cwmbran, the new Grange Hospital provides intensive care for the surrounding area of southeast Wales. The brief was to encourage staff and visitors out of the building to explore the surrounding landscape, to de-stress and to find sanctuary in nature.

Taking as my inspiration the notion of seed forms and natural growth, I conceived a series of waymarkers that lead around the mature landscape setting, as well as a more intimate staff seating area. All were created off-site at my workshop using bespoke mixes of polished and exposed aggregate white concrete, then craned into position to minimise site disturbance at this busy hospital.

I consulted closely with nursing staff throughout the project, and it was from one of these sessions that the notion of the growth of an oak tree developed. Against the backdrop of intensive care it seemed appropriate to celebrate the life cycle of an oak tree, given that it can survive many hundreds of years and remind us of the larger natural context in which we live. The eight waymarkers have engraved images accordingly, encapsulating the development of an acorn into a 500 year old tree. Each takes the form of an acorn cup and each indicates the distance and direction to the next marker.

The work proved very successful and a further four acorn cups were commissioned to depict the variety of oak trees found in the UK.

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