Surface Design Awards – Complete

• LIGHT + SURFACE - INTERIOR 
  The innovative use of light and the way it is inextricably linked to surfaces, whether it’s the effect the light has on the surrounding surfaces or the materials used to create the light. 
• PUBLIC BUILDING - INTERIOR
  Public Buildings used by the public for any purpose, such as assembly, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, transport or worship. This will also include civic centres, community centres, libraries, visitor centres, culture, health + wellbeing, faith, education, sports venues and stadia, transport, central + local government, entertainment and event venues.

The internal refurbishment of Gaumont House, Peckham, has combined two separate NHS GP surgeries (The Acorn Surgery and Gaumont House Surgery) into one modern 700sq.m healthcare facility on a modest budget of around £1000/sq.m, completed in late 2022.
Combining two facilities into one building allows for a better integration of the clinical and non-clinical teams, will lead to cost savings in terms of energy use and reduced duplicated staffing, and provides the capacity to deal with the anticipated increase in patient numbers over the next 20 years due to significant housing expansion in the area. To enable this, we were able to acquire an existing vacant office space directly above the surgery and negotiate a long term lease to match that of the surgery below. This allowed the relocation of all the existing administrative and staff areas to the first floor, which in turn freed up space for additional consultation and treatment rooms on the ground floor, where there is level access for patients throughout.
Following this, we undertook an exercise to rationalise and streamline room occupancy and staff timetables to determine exactly how many patients could be accommodated by the redevelopment. Addressing and removing all the current room inefficiencies, in addition to the new clinical rooms, meant the practice could increase its patient numbers from around 11,000 to 17,000 within the current footprint i.e. without the need for an expensive and unnecessary rear extension.

“The refurbishment is great, it feels more organised, gives us more CE rooms, more space and is a lot brighter than it was before. The waiting area feels like a completely new building. Before it was a dark space with a dusty old carpet and now it’s a really nice place to work and a much more pleasant environment for our patients and visitors.”
- Andrew Grace, Deputy Practice Manager, AGHS

“Manser have very practical experience and an eye for detail which has brought the overall design together whilst being very cost conscious. The practice design has advanced by 30 years, and the feedback from practice staff and patients has been overwhelmingly positive”
- Jason Potter, Contracts Manager, ITC Concepts Ltd

“The Acorn and Gaumont House Surgery was refurbished in a very short timescale, which required regular site visits and prompt decision making to keep the site team moving. The Manser Practice were extremely proactive helping us meet our deadlines and we would be happy to work with them again. Staff and patient feedback following the refurbishment has been extremely positive. TMP have completely transformed a surgery in shambles!”
- Aleksandr Tkac, Site Manager, ITC Concepts Ltd

All the existing clinical rooms were upgraded with acoustic wall linings, new floor finishes and sanitaryware to meet current HBN and infection control standards. The main waiting area (a non-clinical space) was upgraded with wallpaper, flooring, FF&E, lighting, and an existing reception desk was re-clad (rather than replaced).

Achieving such a significant refurbishment on a budget meant that much of the existing equipment had to be reused and upgraded where possible. For instance, the existing reception desk was retained and re-clad, and a full survey of MEP equipment found that the majority of services could be reused and restored. This sustainable approach reduced costs, minimised demolition and waste, and made a significant improvement to air circulation and the internal climate.

Perhaps the most important and most visible part of the redevelopment works was the full refurbishment of the main reception and waiting area. This existing area presented a number of challenges, not least its lack of natural light, poor ventilation, overheating, worn carpet, loose furniture, and nearly every surface coated in unnecessary signage and laminated notices.
Our main aims were to reduce this visible clutter to provide a calm and relaxing environment to contrast the busy, noisy streets of Peckham outside. This was partly achieved by the use of soft, low energy lighting, patterned wall coverings, light oak interior finishes, and existing columns repurposed as ‘information posts’ where all patient notices could be located in one place.
Put together, all of these small interventions enhance the overall experience of patients, staff, and visitors, ensuring that their first impressions of the surgery are now of a calm and clutter-free space, one designed to be spacious enough to cope with future patient numbers. Please refer to the accompanying ‘before and after’ images to see the transformation these surfaces made to the space.

This refurbishment is a good example of how a light-touch, low-cost and sustainable approach to refurbishing existing healthcare buildings can make sure a huge difference to the experience of staff, patients and visitors.