The Ark launched in September 2019 as a highly sustainable facility for Noah’s Ark. It’s designed by Squire & Partners to support children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, and their families. Situated in a 7.5-acre nature reserve in Barnet, the Ark is the first new hospice building in London for 10 years. The brief sought an inspiring space for palliative care, relaxation and adventure in a ‘home from home’ environment. The aim was to create an uplifting environment for children to be children, not just patients, and encourage young people and their families to connect with others facing similar challenges. Establishing a relationship with the surrounding landscape was a priority, as well as providing a focal point for social interaction.

Designed by Penoyre & Prasad, the Kantor Centre of Excellence is a 3200m2 part new-build, part-refurbishment project located on a restricted site near London’s King’s Cross. It’s the first centre of excellence for children and young people’s mental health in England, and it represents an exciting new era for the Anna Freud Centre charity, bringing together clinical practice, research and policy under one roof. At the heart of the centre, the Pears Family School provides support for children aged 5-14, who have been excluded from mainstream school with serious and behavioural issues. With this intensity of use and the often-vulnerable state of mind of the young people accessing services, it was critical to create spaces that reassured, soothed and inspired building users and visitors.