Wellbeing Hub at Park View

The new Wellbeing Hub at Park View will expand the range of services at an existing, successful community centre, adding valuable healthcare resources. Arcadis IBI Group is providing architecture, interior design, and landscape services on the project, while Kier Construction, RVW Consulting, AECOM, The Urbanists and Lawray will provide a range of services from planning consultation to design and engineering.

The creation of the Wellbeing Hub is part of a prevention-focused, integrated healthcare strategy undertaken by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board—the local arm of NHS Wales, part of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service.

The concept for the Wellbeing Hub at Park View focuses on visitors’ comfort, ease of use and wellness, with a welcoming double-height atrium, custom wayfinding, and artwork promoting a positive atmosphere. The Hub’s co-location with existing community centre services makes it unique in its support for innovative “social prescribing.” The practice of referring patients to non-clinical resources to promote better health. Healthcare practitioners at the Wellbeing Hub can direct patients to indoor and outdoor activities offered on-site.

In line with a preventative, integrative healthcare approach, our design incorporates the values of co-production, co-ownership, respect and care. Inclusivity and security are also essential elements of this community space. Finally, we incorporated biophilic design principles, an approach that fosters connection to nature, in recognition of the healing and health-promoting power of proximity to the natural world.

Our design for the Wellbeing Hub at Park View attends to environmental as well as human health. It targets a BREEAM Excellent rating, representing adherence to a high level of environmental sustainability as certified by the rigorous Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. This project will play a central role in our client’s response to NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of the NHS and address climate change. Additional sustainability considerations of our design include adaptability over time and optimising efficiency in shared space.