The Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, on the remote Scottish islands of Orkney, has established itself as the first fully net-zero National Health Service (NHS) hospital in the UK in 2019. The £65 million facility, designed to accommodate 49 patients, has pioneered an innovative and sustainable approach to design, construction, and operation processes. Delivered by the Robertson Group, in collaboration with architects Keppie Design, the 15,000 square meter healthcare facility is designed to put people first and make a positive contribution to the environment, local community, and economy. It is predicated on a place-making approach to give the whole building a depth and level of design missing in many traditional hospitals. “We believe that this is the way all hospitals should be designed. Following an understanding of the correct clinical model and a rigorous analysis of the desired medical adjacencies, the initial design considerations then naturally focus on the public realm, with the functional component forming […]