The £6 million Rubislaw Park Care Home in Aberdeen, designed by Archial, one of the country’s largest architectural practices and a member of the global Ingenium Group of companies, has won the Care Home Design Award of the Year for CrossReach at the Scottish Care National Awards 2010.

One of some 300 entries, Rubislaw Park was the unanimous choice of the nine judges to win the category.

A new purpose-built two-storey care home set in attractive gardens in the west end of Aberdeen, Rubislaw Park is a state-of-the-art 64 place facility with a remit to provide specialist dementia care to 40 older people as well as 24 residential places, with all rooms having full en-suite facilities.

The flagship care home for CrossReach, the social care arm of the Church of Scotland, Rubislaw Park’s mainstream and dementia units are arranged around an internal secure courtyard. Day rooms are split into various lounges throughout the scheme, each accessing attractive 180 degree views into the wooded site.

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The southerly facing secure garden accesses summer sun and the woodland beyond and includes a fully glazed conservatory which invites residents to utilise the exterior space and interact with their surroundings.

John Duncan, a director at Archial’s Aberdeen office, said: “The Rubislaw Park project might have taken some time to get off the ground but it has been well worth the wait. It has achieved this accolade not only for its external design, but also for its internal environment and spaces. It is already considered by its residents to be a home from home and a great place to live.”

The project was completed within budget and agreed timescale and considerable thought was given to energy conservation and environmental issues.

The building incorporates geothermal boreholes, CHP’s and solar ventilation as energy efficiency measures as well as fully integrated services required for a care home of this size. Electric alternators generate the building’s power, eliminating the need to buy electricity from the National Grid, whilst under floor heating is not only cost effective but means there are no radiators, reducing the risk of personal injury.

Archial is an international architectural specialist with public and private-sector clients. Its diverse portfolio includes work in corporate, education, government, healthcare, industrial, mixed-use, residential, retail and transport sectors and it employs approximately 300 employees in offices throughout England and Scotland. The award winning Archial organisation has been known for delivering intelligent solutions that combine creative excellence with commercial success.

(GK/KMcA)