King's Mill Hospital in Mansfield, part of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is undergoing an extensive re-development of its existing acute facility by creating a single unified hospital. It comprises 28 new wards, a state-of-the-art Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, new Emergency Care and Assessment Centre and an out-of-hours GP service and dedicated Women & Children’s Centre. The Hospital is a striking modern design, consisting of three T-shaped ward blocks linked together over five floors. Architecturally it has a strong civic presence, due in no small part to the multi-coloured glass façade, which provides the building with a unique and inviting appearance.  

For the lighter coloured façade panels, such as the blues, greens and whites, conventional coloured, enamelled toughened glass is used – but the requirement for other parts of the spectrum, oranges, purples and reds, called for an entirely different solution – the Chromatics process from The Glass Wall Company.  The problem is that if the customary toughened glass production process is used for the deeper coloured panels, an environmentally unacceptable level of heavy metal content is involved.   However, the innovative Chromatics process is totally considerate to the environment and uses a low-energy green technology, without the involvement of any toxic elements or solvent-based compounds.

The previous phase of the hospital opened on schedule in 2008, and is already being talked about as one of the most sustainable healthcare buildings in the UK. The BREEAM 'Excellent' sustainability rating is based on numerous integrated design features, including the largest geothermal lake loop scheme in Europe and a tri-generation energy plant. These provide all the cooling without chillers and 40% of the heating requirement, saving on gas and electricity costs to the tune of £12,000 a year over the smaller facility that this new hospital replaces.

This integrated engineering and passive eco design will reduce the hospital's carbon footprint by 400 tonnes a year when both phases are operational later this year. The Diagnostic and Treatment Centre also benefits from an unusually innovative feature of a 'biosphere'; a passive ventilated envelope that moderates the climate of the circulation areas and allows deep penetration of natural light to all occupied areas.

For the complete Chromatics information pack, contact Heather Downs on tel: 0844 800 9260 or email heather.downs@theglasswallcompany.com

www.theglasswallcompany.com