Building Health

The newbuild Paediatric Ward for Craigavon Area Hospital is the first in a proposed phased masterplan development for the hospital that aims to modernise hospital services for children and young people across the Southern Trust.

The unit is known as ‘Blossom Children and Young People’s Centre’, a name chosen by staff and service users of the ward.

AG skilfully assisted the project architects and contractor who aimed to create a welcoming environment, using architectural form to create interest and a modern, inviting space for all service users.

657m2 of AG’s River Stone block paving system was utilised as the external paving of choice due to its modern, clean lines and unique ripples that beautifully reflect granite and quartz. The system uses a soft colour variation mix to produce a subtle distinction between paving blocks. In this instance ‘Blackwater’ presented the perfect colour palette to contrast with the bright colours of the Paediatric Unit structure.

AG’s Anchor® Vertica® system was used for the retaining walls of the inner courtyard garden, a cutting-edge system designed for steep, sloping hillsides and other traditionally difficult installation areas. The project used 755m2 of AG’s Basalt Anchor® Vertica® blocks in conjunction with 278m2 of the Minerva Basalt Alphacrete® blocks.

The internal block walls were built using 561m2 of AG’s popular Decoblock® decorative walling block, due to its paint-grade finish, low maintenance and modern appearance.