Exploring the design approach for the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital

The long-awaited new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) has been completed, providing a new state-of-the-art acute hospital for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

Designed by HKS, Cagni Williams, and Sonnemann Toon Architects, the upcoming handover of the buildings comes after a decade of close collaboration with clients and co-consultants.

And the flagship project, part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, sets a new standard for clinical healthcare design and is one of the most-advanced hospitals in Europe, as well as a community regeneration catalyst in an area with high levels of deprivation.

Under one roof

Bringing acute and emergency care from two separate hospitals into one centralised hub, MMUH is designed to support operational efficiency and technological innovation, while enhancing the patient and staff experience.

Featuring surrounding green space, a central Winter Garden, and accessible roof terrace, MMUH delivers a new model of care that encourages patient mobility, independence, and wellbeing.

The 11-storey hospital spans 84,000sq m and provides both a purpose-built emergency department with imaging and diagnostic services and a dedicated children’s emergency department and assessment unit.

It also has 13 operating theatres for emergency, planned, and maternity surgery.

Additional facilities include a midwife-led birthing unit and delivery suite, two maternity wards and antenatal services, a neonatal unit, same-day emergency care for adults, and a regional sickle cell and thalassaemia centre.

A ‘hot block’ design approach

The hospital’s efficient spatial layout centres around the ‘hot block’ clinical facilities, arranged around six internal courtyards.

Less-heavily-serviced ward accommodation is arranged above the ‘hot block’, with two levels of car parking below.

And MMUH’s Winter Garden covers five floors across the east-facing side of the building.
The garden’s ETFE roof offers a highly-transparent, lightweight, and sustainable façade, bringing natural light into the heart of the building, while offering impressive views back out over the immediate neighbouring communities, Birmingham, and the surrounding countryside.

It provides a peaceful and therapeutic space to promote healing, relaxation and reflection and also delivers a bright and modern arrival point to the hospital, with transparent lift cores, stairwells, and walkways further enhancing daylight, connectivity, and wayfinding across each floor.

The Winter Garden gives way to an outdoor roof terrace, accessible for patients, visitors, and staff and also features an expansive art gallery space, overnight visitor facilities, and a multi-faith prayer room.

Supporting recovery and wellbeing

Individual patient rooms and wards are also designed to optimise natural daylight and views, creating a calm and uplifting environment to support patient recuperation.

The hospital provides over 700 new beds and 50% of inpatients will be cared for in single rooms with ensuite bathrooms.

Individual patient rooms and bays have been designed to promote patient safety and ease of visibility for staff, and single-occupancy rooms allow for easy adjustment to accommodate additional levels of isolation if required.

Logistics, wayfinding, and patient flow are also central to the hospital design.

The interior has a clear design language, centred around easy-to-navigate orange cores, and separate circulation routes are in place for patients, staff, and visitors, to enhance privacy, navigation, and safety.

The paediatric department incorporates a more-colourful palette, along with play areas and spaces for children’s artwork to go on display.

To optimise flexibility, the hospital design is based on a single structural grid. This accommodates a wide range of clinical and functional spaces that can be easily adapted for future expansion, and to support the delivery of new service models and working practices, as medical technology and acute healthcare needs evolve.

The building’s external envelope facade materials are organised by vertical elements to break up the building mass and reflect the rhythm of the structural grid.

Alongside ETFE pillows, the palette includes terracotta, concrete, painted metal cores, and metal louvres.

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of the design approach.

The Winter Garden is south facing and passively ventilated, and the hospital also incorporates intelligent lighting, solar PV panels, and water conservation measures.

The building design includes a unitised façade system and components including the Winter Garden roof and bridge links have been prefabricated offsite, making it an exemplar in the use of Modern Methods of Construction.

MMUH will have a range of transport options, including dedicated public transport service routes, electric vehicle charging points, and secure cycle storage facilities.

Green spaces surrounding the hospital include a circular, cricket pitch-sized green; a series of landscaped beds; and a community garden, as well as pedestrian and cycle routes alongside the canal, helping to transform this post-industrial site.

A landmark development

The new hospital represents a landmark development and a vehicle for growth for this designated regeneration zone between Birmingham and Sandwell.

The wider masterplan includes The Midland Metropolitan Learning Campus, a new education and employment building under construction, plus additional plots for development, earmarking it as an emerging destination for the West Midlands.

Jane Ho, regional practice director for health at HKS, said: “HKS is thrilled to see Midland Metropolitan University Hospital open its doors to patients after collaborating closely with the Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust and wider project team throughout the last 10 years, building a trusted partnership to create a world-class hospital.

“The design responds to the challenges faced by trusts, workforces, and patient environments today and will be the catalyst for improving the patient experience, staff environment, and outcomes for the region.

“The successful delivery of this project is a testament to the unwavering resilience and dedication of the trust project team, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible.”

Edward Williams, founding director of Cagni Williams, adds: “From the very beginning we were determined to design a ground-breaking hospital together with the wider project team.
“From the earliest sketches and models, the idea of the Winter Garden was always to create a central heart for the hospital – a welcoming, unique, and vibrant space for patients, staff, visitors, and the local community.

“It’s been a rewarding journey, working closely with specialist contractors to bring the vision to life, while preserving the integrity of the original design.
“Good ideas take time and dedication, and the result is a testament to 10 years of constant collaboration and hard work.”

And Cressida Toon, founding partner of Sonnemann Toon Architects, said: “We are privileged to have played a role in this transformative project, witnessing years of dedicated planning come to fruition.

“The final outcome exemplifies the principles of efficient clinical design, established with care from the outset and safeguarded by stakeholders throughout the collaboration and it is deeply gratifying to see these concepts realised so successfully.

“This project is a testament to teamwork, considered design, and a shared commitment to improving healthcare environments and we are proud to have contributed to a development that will positively impact all who use it and are confident this facility will not only transform healthcare delivery for the local community, but will also serve as a catalyst for Sandwell’s future growth and prosperity.”

The main contractor for the hospital was Balfour Beatty.