The Kaweka Ranges have a strong influence on the architectural design of the new medical facility.

Architecture HDT director Shaun Thompson-Gray was provided with a simple design brief for the external look of the facility by Kaweka Health’s managing director Colin Hutchison.

“Colin had a vision to establish a world class medical facility that will benefit all the people in the greater Hawke’s Bay region.

“We looked at natural landscapes and when you look out west you see the Kaweka Ranges rising high above and cradling the region and protecting it from the elements. This was our inspiration!’’

Shaun adds that hospitals can be daunting places that are renowned for lacking positive energy and sterile looking but that’s not the case with Kaweka Health.

“We’ve designed a health campus in a natural landscape setting to create a welcoming and restful environment. There’s a large glass entrance foyer that will capture the warm sun and the colour palette will be balanced with natural colours on the outside with more vibrant colours inside.

Shaun says the internal design, led by New Zealand’s leading clinical health planner, Ruth Whitehead, has been well thought out and is based on a patients journey from arriving in the foyer, undergoing surgery and recovery.

Architecture HDT, based in Napier, has been involved in the development of many health facilities including the Hastings Health Centre, which was also project managed by PML and built by Gemco.