NCCU Redesign with CUH Arts
Neurological Critical Care Unit redesign at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, commissioned by CUH Arts. 2025
The brief for this commission was based on creative consultations with staff, patients and their families facilitated by artist Hannah Jane Walker, exploring how they would want the NCCU to feel and what would be needed from the artwork. The underlying sentiments were to feel connected to nature and the need to heal and come to terms with change, both of which resonated with my practice.
For this commission, I wanted to create a journey through the seasons to connect patients, families and staff back to nature and its quiet, grounding rhythms. Each room reflects a different season, shaped by the energy it holds. Spring welcomes visitors at reception with a friendly reassurance. Summer wraps the staff room with warm encouragement and escape. Autumn settles in the family room as a hearth for gathering and connection. Winter embraces the quiet room, offering calm reflection amid hopeful resiliency. The corridor connects the spaces through its flowing current. It is the undulating wind that carries us through, scattering seeds of renewal as we navigate all of life’s seasons.
I began by having a look into the meaning behind particular colours, such as those that evoke calm, stability and renewal or that symbolise physical and emotional health and healing. I then researched British wildflowers with a particular interest in ones that had healing properties or health benefits (and were colourful or interesting). I also looked into which flowers bloom in the winter and which in the Spring, so I can connect them to their particular spaces. Skies and trees are also an ongoing interest in my work. Skies refer to transience and a certain presence in the moment, as well as a wider concern for the environment. While trees, on the other hand, tell a story of steady resilience.
It’s been crucial to get the tone just right for this project, and this could only have been done thanks to the creative consultation and dialogue with the CUHArts and NCCU team. Listening and responding to their feedback has been a reassurance and pleasure.