A new hospital building in Chester has won one of the UK’s top healthcare design awards, recognising a building designed around the needs of mothers, babies and children.
The Women and Children’s Building at the Countess of Chester Hospital won Best Healthcare Development over £75 million at the Building Better Healthcare Awards 2026, with the result announced on Thursday, 13 November.
The 12,210-square-metre building brings maternity, neonatal and paediatric care together under one roof. It has 180 beds and is home to more than 500 staff, serving around 2,300 families every year.
The building is also a first for the NHS in England: it is the first hospital building in the country to be approved under the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, which sets strict limits on energy use and carbon emissions for new healthcare buildings.
Judges praised the design for putting patients and families first, with light, calm spaces intended to make a hospital stay less stressful for children and new parents. The building was designed by architects AHR.
The NHS Net Zero Building Standard aims to make new hospitals far more energy efficient, cutting running costs as well as emissions. Buildings that meet it use less energy for heating and lighting, which matters for hospitals that run around the clock.
The award is a boost for the Countess of Chester Hospital, which serves Chester and the surrounding area. Hospital leaders say the new building gives families modern, purpose-built wards and helps staff deliver care in surroundings designed for the job.
Large windows bring natural light into the wards, and views over the hospital grounds are part of a design meant to keep the building calm and comfortable for patients, families and staff.
The awards, held each year, recognise the best new healthcare buildings and the teams behind them, from architects and builders to hospital staff. The Chester win puts the hospital’s new building among the most highly rated healthcare projects in the country.
Source: Architects Today
