In addition to the RIBA Regional and Sustainability awards presented in April, the New QEII Hospital has now been awarded a prestigious RIBA National Award, announced today.

Associate and Project Leader Peter Liddell said: “We are extremely pleased and honoured to receive an RIBA National Award for the New QEII Hospital on behalf of the whole team. The project team committed from the outset to design a building of quality for the NHS and the people of Welwyn Garden City, and this has now been successfully delivered.”

The New QEII Hospital is amongst the first of a new generation of NHS local hospitals integrating primary, acute and social care services to serve the local population. It replaces the 1950s QEII Hospital – one of the first purpose built NHS District Hospitals – which had reached end of its useful life.

The RIBA Judges said: “It was obvious to the jury that the new facility has been taken on by the staff and occupied in a way that indicates they are proud of this building. Some might say that moving from old and tired facilities would automatically create a sense of ownership and pride, but this is not always the case in this most important sector of work and the jury felt that the skill of the architect in incorporating the technical requirements in a way that makes the building as stress free as possible is a fabulous achievement.”

The New QEII Hospital is an exemplar of low energy, sustainable design, the hospital has achieved BREEAM Excellent, and is particularly designed around the wellbeing of patients. The building design integrates the work of several artists, both practical and decorative, to enrich the narrative and celebrate the health service.

The hospital has also just been shortlisted for the European Healthcare Design Awards and a World Architecture News (WAN) Healthcare Award.