Students from Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) have had a design input into new facilities at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Together with its contractor Integrated Health Projects (IHP), an alliance between VINCI Construction UK and civil engineering company Sir Robert McAlpine, UHD welcomed a team of university students to the hospital site to thank them for design work promoting the benefits of the hospital’s new BEACH (Births, Emergency care, Critical care and child Health) building and wider transformation programme.

AUB’s BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design students were invited to contribute to the £250m transformation project, which will see more than 23,000m2 of complex hospital development over six storeys at the Castle Lane site.

AUB students Julia Binnon, Raquel Di Cori and Dahnya Sandhu are the team behind 130m eye-catching new information panels surrounding the BEACH building. Completing in late 2024, the new building will offer Dorset residents a new maternity unit, children’s unit, enhanced emergency department and 30-bed critical care unit.

Students Raquel and Dahnya, who visited the hoardings with the site team from University Hospitals Dorset and IHP, said: “Our work started with a competition between all of us on our course at AUB, but we never thought that we’d win, because we were doing this simultaneously with another project.

“We’re really thankful for the experience. It’s a bit surreal, but it’s very exciting to see our work in real-life and to be a part of such a great opportunity. We’ve learned a lot, with many meetings with clients and check-ins, and we’ve had to understand construction project timescales, which was a new way of working for us.”

The colourful designs tell the story of the major transformation programme currently underway, featuring inspiring quotes, facts, and engaging artwork about the BEACH building as well as other projects on the trust’s three main sites.

Monica Fanchin, course leader for Interior Architecture and Design at AUB, said: “It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to work alongside the team at UHD. Our students gained a wider knowledge of the process needed to create something and deliver it to a professional standard.

“Julia, Raquel and Dahnya have had a valuable experience that has contributed significantly to their understanding of industry standards and user needs. We are particularly honoured to have been a part of this exciting project, given the inspiring work that NHS continues to do, and we hope to be able to continue our collaboration in the future.”

Steve Killen, transformation director at UHD, said: “Despite the inclement weather we were delighted to show AUB colleagues the panels now that they are in place, and to thank them in person for their hard work, vision, and creativity.

“This innovative partnership has allowed us to better tell the story of our exciting future and the range of benefits these changes will provide for our patients and staff. Both students should be very proud of this achievement, and we wish them well in their future studies.”

UHD’s transformation programme runs up to 2026, and forms part of the £250m development plans for its hospital sites.