Yesterday saw the winners of the 2025 Healthcare Design Awards announced at a ceremony in London

The 2025 Healthcare Design Awards was held in London yesterday, recognising innovation and excellence in the design of health and care facilities.

Celebrating and rewarding projects that do not just demonstrate good design, but have made a real impact on people’s lives, seven trophies were handed out at the event.

Introducing celebrity guest speaker, Jo Brand, to the stage at the event, Jo Makosinski, editor of Healthcare Property magazine, said: “The past year has brought many challenges, with high construction costs, workforce shortages, and a change in government, to name just a few.

“But, against this backdrop is the fact that the need for health and care services is growing.

“And the importance of the environments from which these services are delivered cannot be underestimated.

“Every person in this room today has contributed to delivering both new and refurbished buildings which will have a long-lasting positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people of all ages.

“The Healthcare Design Awards aims to recognise these efforts and promote a new approach to delivering health and care infrastructure which truly puts person-centred care at its heart.

“This year the judges had a very difficult time deciding the winners as the standard of entries was particularly high.

“But those they have chosen are projects they believe are changing the way we look at designing health and care buildings and creating blueprints for a better future.”

The winners are:

 

Best Architectural Design (International)

Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre (Quinn Architects)

The judges said: “This is a fantastic example of designing a facility which facilitates the delivery of a new type of service more tailored to the local population and which will undoubtedly help to reduce the pressure on acute services. We particularly liked the materials used and the eye-catching entrance space. This is an exemplar showing how thoughtful design can be used to underpin the efficient delivery of services.”

 

Best Architectural Design

Trent Bridge Care Home (C Squared Architects)

The judges said: “This blew us away. It was very brave to choose such a city centre location next to very, very busy roads, but we have rarely been to a care home so warm and welcoming from the moment you walk in. The residents we spoke to loved it there. There are so many great breakout areas and the verticality shortens travel times for residents who may have issues with mobility. The whole building feels light and airy and it has been extremely cleverly designed. We have this mental image of a care home as being typically suburban, low level, and often sprawling, and this is really showing a different way of doing things and could lead to a paradigm change. This cannot have been an easy brief, but it has been done very, very well.”

 

Best Interior Design

Outram Fields Care Home (Harris Irwin Architects)

The judges said: “This project made us smile! It feels safe and secure and they have done something very different. The dementia spaces are good, and the furniture is interesting and designed to support people. You could see the reasons they had designed the spaces and it feels like a community, despite not being at full capacity yet. Attention to detail was really good and the communal spaces are nice without feeling too exposed. Lighting is very good and the whole home feels like an evolution in interior design. We will definitely take some of these design approaches into schemes we do in the future.”

 

 

Best Exterior Design

Highfield Care Home (Harris Irwin Architects)

The judges said: “They have taken a traditional courtyard approach reminiscent of a country estate, which looks to optimise the home’s location near to the church and parkland. The first-floor large balconies link the home to the outside space and there are also a number of secure courtyards accessible from the ground-floor bedrooms. They have broken the gardens down into smaller areas, which works really well. Clearly it is an outstanding setting to work with and they have been particularly careful to enhance the listed building, rather than overshadow it. Views and outlook have been prioritised well.”

 

Best Specialist/Dementia Care Design

North View (Gilling Dod Architects)

The judges said: “This building is phenomenal. Compared to the old building, the number of restraints has dropped by 60%, and that just goes to show what this sort of project can achieve. That is purely to do with the change in the living environment. The way the courtyards work is fantastic and I have never seen anything like it before. I could hardly believe my eyes. This is a huge scheme and it is a secure mental health facility, but they have used separate entrances, not because their want to hide people away, but for their privacy and dignity. It’s mind blowing. The work they have put in on all levels in incredible. You would see this building and have no idea it is a secure unit.”

 

Best Acute Design

Waddeson Wing, Stoke Mandeville Hospital (Hunters)

The judges said: “There are some great initiatives which they have got right, right from the design stage. The user experience starts from the approach and flows throughout the building. Separation and function are great and there is clear direction, privacy and dignity. It has been really sensitively done and is very harmonious. Architecture, interiors, and form all come together to create a very-sensible building. Interiors are age appropriate and the design uses natural light really well, with views to the outside aiding navigation.”

 

Best Primary Care Design

The Bevan Health and Wellbeing Centre (Arcadis)

The judges said: “This is a lovely building and works extremely well on this historic site – the birthplace of the NHS. They have done a great job in preserving the building and the amphitheatre design in the entrance space is really good for relaxation and collaboration. It also makes terrific use of the sloping site. The building has been designed for better communication and better connections. The pharmacy, in particular, has been designed in such a way that pharmacists can interact with GPs and it really drives the ‘pharmacy first’ approach to health services, taking the pressure off primary care services. The building, by its very design, enables services to link together very efficiently and promotes collaboration. It’s not something you see every day and it really demonstrates there is value in investing in the healthcare system in the right way.”

 

Next year’s ceremony will be held on 12 February at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Click here for details