As work progresses at Boswall Road, April brings scorching sun – then snow – to Kirklands!

 

Now that St Columba’s Hospice has settled in at Kirklands House and our new surroundings are more familiar to us, we can really appreciate how our patients and their friends and families are enjoying the location and the sunny aspect of the house and gardens.

We had an early taste of summer when temperatures soared into the 20’s.  The sunglasses and suncream came out and we thought that we were in for a long hot summer. However it was not to be as winter returned with a vengeance and we retreated indoors while the snowflakes fell and the bunnies took shelter. Now the patients are all talking about looking forward to the weather improving again so that they can enjoy the sun again.

It’s all happening at our rebuild site at 15 Boswall Road and we have handed over keys to our Phase 2 contractor – Graham Construction – who also worked on Phase 1. Next  month we will be Cutting the First Sod which is the next milestone in the project.

At the Education Centre in 17 Boswall Road, the Education and Fundraising teams are delighted to have an invitation from Graham Construction to share their site hut canteen. Hopefully this means bacon rolls for 17 Boswall Road too! We’re sure there will be more stories next month.

Next month we will share some photos of the progress on the rebuild site .

 

We’ve made it to Kirklands House!

The move to Kirklands has been a great success. We’re not denying that it’s been a mammoth task which has taken over a year of detailed planning but everyone’s hard work has paid off as the move went incredibly smoothly. There’s also a fantastic feeling of optimism and determination amongst the staff and we all feel closer now as we’ve worked so well together to get ready for our first patients arriving at Kirklands.

Our patients were transferred from Boswall Road on Tuesday 21 February which went perfectly to plan. Our Day Hospice reopened on Wednesday 22 February without a hitch and all of our other services were running as normal by the Thursday. Now it already feels like we’ve settled into Kirklands House and it’s the little things like bacon rolls in the morning and hearing the birds singing in the morning which have kept staff morale high.

One of the most appealing things about Kirklands House is its southerly aspect. All the patients rooms look out to a garden with mature trees and a lawn full of snowdrops and daffodils, and the Pentland Hills are a breathtaking a backdrop. What more could we want? Rabbits, squirrels and pheasants are regular visitors to the garden so there’s never a dull moment.

Work is continuing apace with Phase 2 of our rebuild project and the contractors will start on site at Boswall Road at the beginning of April. We hope to be back in Trinity in early 2014 so it won’t be long until we’re planning our move back!

Next month we’ll look forward to showing you some photos of the site in Trinity and bring you more news about how work is progressing. It’s amazing how quickly everything seems to be happening now and before we know where we are we’ll be back in our amazing new building. We can’t wait!

Lecture theatre stonework nearly complete!

Here’s a picture of our lecture theatre from Boswall Road, you can see that the stonework is nearly complete. The lecture theatre looks out over the Firth of Forth and has a glass front, which is sure to give fantastic sea views. Our lecture theatre will be used by students in our palliative care education programmes.

The stonework on our new lecture theatre is nearly complete!

We’ll be starting the rebuilding of our main site early next year. Keep checking this blog for further updates. To find out more about our rebuild project and how you can get involved, visit www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk

On track for a New Year opening

The stonework on our lecture theatre is going up

It’s hard to believe that we’re already eight months in to building our new Education Centre!  We’re on track to have the building ready by the end of the year, which means we will start accepting students in the New Year. It’s exciting to think that our students will be starting their next academic year in our current building in September, and finishing it in our new building. Our Education and Fundraising teams will be moving into their new offices at the beginning of 2012.

It’s been a hub of activity on the site lately. Here’s an update on the latest progress on the main house and the lecture theatre.

Main house

Inside the main house at No. 17, refurbishment work is progressing well. The library and reading rooms have been created, giving a real feel of the finished layout of the building.

The first round of wiring for the electrics has now gone in and repair work on the roof is almost finished.  The windows have also been refurbished. The next steps will be building a staircase to the computer suite, installing telephone cabling and ongoing refurbishment of the building’s features.

Lecture theatre

The stonework on the lecture theatre is going up and it is looking really good.  The lecture theatre will be glass fronted  to the north, giving us fabulous outlook over the Forth. The windows and glass for the front will be installed in the next few weeks.  Our contractors have also made a hole in the gable end wall of the main house to connect it to the entrance of the lecture theatre.

We’ll be starting the rebuilding of our main site early next year. Keep checking this blog for further updates. To find out more about our rebuild project and how you can get involved, visit www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk

A maritime past

Like Challenger Lodge at St Columba’s Hospice, which was named after the Challenger expedition ship, our new Education Centre also has some interesting links to maritime history.

The house was once owned by industrial magnate Sir John Donald Pollock. Sir Donald installed a series of ornate iron railings to form the fence of the property, which he acquired from ironwork from the RMS Aquitania when she was scrapped. Aquitania was the largest and most luxurious liner of her time, and is widely considered one of the most beautiful ships ever built. She later served in military service in both World Wars.

We’re happy to report that the railings will be remaining an important part of our new Education Centre at 17 Boswall Road.

Stay tuned for the next progress update later this month on the building of our Education Centre!

Image of the Aquitania courtesy of Wikimedia

Walls go up for lecture theatre

Despite the horrendous weather we’ve been enduring, a lot has been happening on the site of our Education Centre these past few weeks.

The walls on our lecture theatre are starting to go up, with the brickwork now in place. The stone cladding will be going on in the next few weeks. Our palliative care students are certainly going to enjoy some fantastic views of the Firth of Forth when attending their lectures!

Inside the main building, which is set to become the offices, library and computer suite of our Education Centre, our contractors are starting to look at electric cabling inside the house.

Make sure you keep checking this blog for further updates over the coming months as to how our project is progressing. Fingers crossed the weather starts behaving a bit more like summer soon!

Steelwork up as lecture theatre takes shape

Building work on our new Education Centre is progressing well and is running on time. It’s hard to believe that we’re nearly 20 weeks in!

The lecture theatre is really starting to take shape. The foundations have now been laid and the steelwork has been installed. The walls will be built in the next few weeks. The lecture theatre will be used by students studying towards qualifications and courses in palliative care.

Foundations laid for lecture theatre

Last week, Mother Nature blessed Edinburgh with a few days of glorious sunshine – giving our contractors the perfect conditions to lay the foundations for our new lecture theatre! We watched in awe as concrete was poured in, giving us a better idea of the size of the lecture theatre. Above is an action shot of the foundations being laid.

Scaffolding up so its full steam ahead!

There’s been lots of movement on site at our new Education Centre at 17 Boswall Road in the past few weeks. Scaffolding has now gone up to begin the refurbishment of the property’s interior, which is set to become our new

Education Centre. As the property is a listed building, our contractors are working closely with Historic Scotland to preserve and restore the historical features of the building, such as the cornices and fireplaces.

Our contractors have also started digging the foundations for our new lecture theatre. Did you know that our new lecture theatre will have a green (sedum) roof to improve the insulation and heating efficiency of the building? Well, you do now!

Work is progressing nicely and is on track to be completed by the end of this year. St Columba’s Hospice is still operating as normal while we build our new Education Centre. Make sure you sign up to our blog so you don’t miss any updates! And, don’t forget that you can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Diggers clear the lower part of the site

About our new Education Centre

Work has got off to a flying start on our Education Centre, and the site is starting to take shape. But what exactly are we building next door to St Columba’s Hospice and why?

Our new Education Centre will be a state-of-the-art facility for students completing qualifications and courses in palliative care. We are also creating a larger car park for all visitors to St Columba’s Hospice.

The new Education Centre will house a purpose-built lecture theatre, refurbished seminar rooms, social spaces and a Learning Resource Centre. This will have a library, computer suite and a reading room. The Education Centre has been designed with the needs of students in mind to create a state-of-the-art learning environment.

Keep checking this blog for news on how we’re getting on!

Architect's impression of our new lecture theatre