21st Century treatment for hospital
AN architecture graduate’s vision to breathe new life into one of Newcastle’s most prominent historic buildings has won a national design award.
Northumbria University master of architecture graduate Faye Sedgewick’s design proposal tackles the plight of the Keelmen’s Hospital, whose domed tower overlooks the Quayside.
The hospital, on City Road, which opened in 1701, is grade II*-listed, which places it in the top 5% of heritage buildings.
But the building, owned by Newcastle City Council, has been empty for 11 years after last being used as student accommodation, and has been on Historic England’s at risk register since 2009.
Faye’s plans illustrate how the site could be transformed into inter-generational living spaces complete with shared gardens and leisure areas.
The quality, imagination and feasibility of her project has seen her presented with the National Student Designer Award at the Association for Project Safety (APS) National Awards.
The hospital was built by the keelmen of Newcastle for their orphans, widows and infirm beneficiaries.
The keelmen, who played a vital role in the commerce of the river by ferrying loads between ship and shore, contributed one penny a tide from the wages from each keel’s crew. In 1701 there were 1,600 keelmen in Newcastle.
Faye’s design envisages creating a living space to tackle some of the challenges often faced by older people, such as social segregation, loneliness, and maintaining active and independent lives.
Her plans illustrate how the building and its grounds could become a mixeduse development where older people and younger residents, including families, could live side by side, reflecting the historic and social legacy of the keelmen themselves.
The plans propose a range of housing types alongside community spaces.