Project News
Explore the new Women and Children’s Building at the Countess of Chester Hospital
by AHR
The Countess of Chester Hospital’s new Women and Children’s Building rethinks what a hospital can feel like, light-filled, nature-connected and family-centred, while designed with staff, for staff and meeting ambitious net zero carbon goals.
A building designed to change how hospitals feel
At the heart of the project is a simple ambition: to create a hospital that feels welcoming, uplifting and supportive at every stage of care.
Take a look inside the Women and Children’s Building and hear directly from those who designed it and those will deliver care within in.
A new kind of hospital environment
The building has been designed to look and feel very different from traditional NHS estates. Instead of overwhelming colour schemes and long, sterile corridors, the building introduces softer interior palettes, intuitive wayfinding and daylight-filled spaces that ease stress from the moment of arrival.
A bright atrium with a central staircase gives patients and families a clear sense of orientation, while the building’s curved form creates constantly changing vistas, helping people navigate naturally without relying solely on signage.
What we wanted to do for this building was move away from what you often see in healthcare buildings - bright, bold colours - mainly used for wayfinding, which can sometimes be overwhelming for people with sensory sensitivities.
So we’ve used one colour family per floor, with different tones to differentiate departments. It’s a calmer, clearer approach that still helps people navigate without too many colours.”
Jennifer Flower
Senior Interior Designer, Architecture
Nature, views and outdoor space for everyone
The building treats landscape as part of care. Internal courtyards bring sky, planting and daylight into the plan. Terraces at upper levels and a secure outdoor play balcony reconnect families and children with fresh air.
Joan Carter from the Trust highlights how service-user feedback directly shaped the concept:
“People asked us to frame nature, to use our tree-lined route and the views of the Welsh mountains, and really bring the outside in. You don’t even need to paint the walls here, you just have to look out of the window.”
Quietly placed gardens support sensitive moments. A bereavement suite has its own discreet courtyard and external entrance, allowing families privacy and access to sunlight.
design concept
A sensitive, thoughtful interior design strategy
Family-centred care and choice, built-in
The building has been thoughtfully designed to keep families together and reduce unnecessary moves, creating a more comfortable and supportive experience for patients and their loved ones.
- Maternity: Spacious delivery rooms offer genuine choice for birthing. Generous daylight helps reduce stress, while Christopher beds - pull-down beds named in memory of a local family - allow partners to stay overnight comfortably without overcrowding the space.
- Paediatrics: Single en-suite rooms across the ward and assessment unit provide privacy and dignity, support infection control during winter months and make room allocation simpler, ensuring every child receives the most appropriate accommodation.
- One-Stop Gynaecology: Conjoined rooms allow patients to see multiple clinicians in sequence without the need to re-dress or return to waiting areas. This design significantly improves patient flow.
The Women and Children’s Building marks an exciting new chapter for the Countess of Chester Hospital, bringing together patient dignity, family-centred care, staff wellbeing, and sustainability in a single, integrated design.
Discover more about how this innovative project is transforming care by visiting our full case study.
Frequently asked questions
The building uses softer colour palettes, natural daylight, and curved corridors to create a calm and intuitive environment that eases stress and improves wayfinding.
Design features include spacious delivery rooms with birthing options, Christopher beds for partners, single en-suite paediatric rooms, and one-stop gynaecology clinics to reduce unnecessary moves.
Staff benefit from daylight-rich lounges, private outdoor courtyards, terraces, and a seminar room, as well as informal spaces designed for collaboration and peer support.
Posted on:
Oct 2nd 2025
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