New hospital building lands two prestigious awards

The Louisa Martindale Building in Brighton accommodates 40 wards, an intensive care unit and outpatient clinics

A new state-of-the-art building at a hospital in East Sussex has won two prestigious awards.

The £500m Louisa Martindale Building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton opened in June last year.

The 11-story building accommodates 40 wards, an intensive care unit and outpatient clinics.

It won in the ‘Healthcare Design’ category in recognition of its design and focus on sustainability.

It also won the ‘Interior Design and Arts’ award at the European Healthcare Design Awards 2024.

The Louisa Martindale Building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital opened last year

Terece Walters, nurse director at the hospital, said: “Clinical and nursing staff were heavily involved at every stage of the design, and that means we have a building that doesn’t just look great, it gives people a highly tailored environment to recover in, and to work in.

“It’s a huge improvement to the Barry Building and transforms what we can do for our patients.”

In February, demolition work began on the Barry Building, which was built at the hospital in 1828.

The work is expected to be complete in 2028.

The replacement Louisa Martindale Building includes custom-designed outpatient areas, inpatient wards, operating theatres and a critical care facility.

As part of the judging process for the awards, a group of 21 international delegates visited the building to view the structure, as well as patient care.