Highfield
The project involved the demolition of an existing care home and replacing it with a new, modern facility in the grounds of Scarthingwell Park. The existing home had exceeded the performance period from what had originally been a 1960’s school building with flat roofs and minimal insulation.
The primary aim of the new design was to create a facility that met and exceeded local market needs with its increase in bedrooms, enhanced focus on elderly and dementia care, whilst also delivering a scheme that unites beautifully within its surroundings of estate parkland and an adjacent Grade II listed church.
| Type: | Care Home |
| Client: | Barchester Healthcare |
| Local Authority: | Selby District Council |
| Scale: | 38,147 sq ft |
| Status: | Completed |
Externally, the new building footprint creates an open space intended to resemble a traditional courtyard, landscaped in a manner reminiscent of country estate gardens. The design maximises the commanding views of the surrounding rural landscape to the south and east and responds more sensitively to the historic context of the site.
The building forms are set further back from the church, allowing the old to blend with the new so as not to overpower the church’s architectural significance. Most ground-floor bedrooms have direct access to outside space and external first-floors terraces offer seating arrangements for enjoyment of the outstanding views that celebrate the heritage of the setting and look out to the parklands and beyond.
The previous exterior space was poorly executed due to the operator having to ‘make do’ with the existing layout and design of what were former school buildings and grounds. Due to vehicular access requirements, large expanses of tarmac dominated the exterior restricting opportunities to create garden spaces for residents
