The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC)will transform clinical rehabilitation in England. The new facility will create a regional centre of excellence, combining under one roof specialist resources for research, development, and innovation in rehabilitation treatment, as well as for teaching and education. Currently located at Linden Lodge on the City Hospital site, existing rehabilitation services will transfer there in 2024. The 70-bed facility will be built alongside the new Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, enabling them to share knowledge and facilities so that both can benefit from each other.
Part of the UK’s commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, the NRC will help the NHS achieve their greener pledge to be the world’s first net zero national health service. Designed to be net zero carbon, it will be highly insulated to minimise energy loss and generate carbon-free electricity through on-site solar panels to avoid the use of fossil fuels. Ensuring the NRC achieves its net zero goal over its entire life, its structure will follow a lean and passive design that promotes natural ventilation and maximises natural daylight to minimise energy consumption.
The NRC will incorporate low carbon materials such as timber as well as recycled content or “loaned equipment”, reducing embodied carbon through circular economy. Energy performance has also been considered when selecting its waste and water management strategies, opting for water efficient fittings and meters for leak detection and usage monitoring, and the integration of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for waste reduction. To minimise the impact on nature, several Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) have already been carried out.
Three Winning Facts:
- Net zero carbon healthcare centre in both construction and operation
- An approximately 5% lower embodied carbon than the NHS Capital Carbon target, including its Energy Centre with a 6% lower.
- Principles of NZC building will be integrated into other rehabilitation centres when they are rolled our nationally.
