Project: ( 4087 ) DNRC – Help For Heroes
Facility: Defence National Rehabilitation Centre
Architect: John Simpson Architects / Fira Landscape
Main Contractor: Interserve Construction Ltd
Services: Design and build of water features
Installation: 2015 – 2018
Project Description:
Built on the magic and ethos of Headley Court in Surrey, the DNRC is the brainchild of Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster. A Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre four times the size of Headley Court, kitted out with the latest treatment techniques and virtual reality systems to guarantee all injured service personnel the best possible care.
The DNRC (Defence National Rehabilitation Centre) is set in beautiful and peaceful countryside, complete with water features designed and built by Ustigate. The DNRC at Stanford Hall is the perfect place to recover from injuries sustained through strenuous exercise or conflict.
A second rehabilitation centre is planned on site to enable civilians to access the same world class treatment and health care from the NHS. Consultation took place between 27th July 2020 and 18th September 2020.
Challenge:
Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster first raised the idea of a next generation rehabilitation centre for the Armed Forces in 2008. Whilst Headley Court had developed an excellent reputation in rehabilitating heroes for 70 years, the layout of the facilities took a little orienteering.
The 6th Duke of Westminster recognised that a new build would enable a health care driven design, and a freedom of space to grow and extend their world leading care to others. The DNRC would provide a new headquarters for their area of specialism in field trauma and mental health and it would secure the best of health care for seriously injured service personnel and civilians in the future.
The DNRC is an outstanding and futuristic project that took a decade to plan and £300 million pounds to materialise. Ustigate were proud to install water features into the grounds of the DNRC. Our works involved collaborative working throughout the construction phase between 2015 and 2018.
Success:
Indoor facilities include accommodation wards with nearby integrated treatment zones, a pool complex, gymnasiums, a research and development facility, an x-ray and imaging suite and a 3D printing technology department to make prosthetic limbs.
The outdoors is 358 acres of healing landscape complete with soothing water features engineered and installed by Ustigate:
Sea Lion Pool
Garden visitors are greeted with a formation of boulders at the Sea Lion Pool, brought to life with a single water jet and cascading water streams that pleasantly flow where gravity meets course.
Mental Health Garden
A single 1.2m stone complete with soothing acoustics, projected from a trickling stream of water that runs from top to toe. This water feature is central to a picturesque garden, designed and established to provide peace and tranquillity for all that visit.
Neurological Garden
A cascade water feature made in DNRC matching brick, featuring a letterbox opening and a curtain of water that organically falls into the pool below. The water released from the DNRC letterbox travels 600mm and lands below with a gush of energy. It is a sight and sound that stimulates body and mind. The Neurological Garden is a place where blue and green infrastructure come together beautifully and a place where the sound of free flowing water is constant. The waterfall and pool are surrounded by lush, green, thriving plants and there are benches dotted around to sit and enjoy nature. The Neurological Garden is a therapeutic garden with sensory benefits to promote good health and wellbeing.
Italian Garden
An original 1930 water fountain decorated in majestic mosaics restored to its former glory. Now joyously seen and heard inside the Italian Garden.
The DNRC is the place where broken bodies and minds are mended.
The DNRC Build: 2011 – 2018
Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster provided 42 years of military service in his life time, and led the £300 million fundraising campaign with a personal gift of £70 million. The 6th Duke of Westminster purchased the Stanford Hall Estate in October 2011 and proudly worked on the campaign to establish the DNRC up until his passing in 2016. Planning permission was granted on 10th July 2014 and works began on 24th August 2015. The DNRC took 1.2 million bricks, 141,000 slate roof tiles, 3,700 gallons of paint and enough concrete to fill six Olympic size swimming pools to build. On 21st June 2018 Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster handed over the DNRC to the Nation at a Gifting Ceremony. The DNRC was received by Theresa May, the Prime Minister at the time, in the presence of the Duke of Cambridge, donors, supporters, members of the Grosvenor family, representatives from the Midlands and local health authorities, and the build team. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge at the time, a patron of the DNRC funding appeal, praised and thanked all supporters for their contribution to the DNRC and joyfully referenced how he had been impressed with his son Prince George’s digger skills on an earlier visit during the construction phase. After the speeches, the Duke of Cambridge unveiled a statue, a tribute to Major General Sir Robert Jones, the founder of the modern orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation that transforms lives.
History: Part of Stanford Hall was used for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers in 1944.
Fact: The DNRC has 427 staff of which 187 are military.
