Air Ambulance Headquarters, Cosford

Size matters

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity HQ site was extensive – equivalent to the size of 11 football pitches – with the building and external facilities taking up two of those pitches.  The building was designed as a ‘healthy building’ through the careful selection of views, orientation, materials and finishes and the inclusion of a gym and outdoor recreational staff area.

It was also a complex commission as the building itself shares multiple, diverse functions such as office, flight operations, land vehicle operations, medical training facilities, overnight accommodation, warehouse and storage space, educational and conference areas and designated flexible visitor spaces.

The build

The development, which was part funded by a number of supportive grant giving trusts and corporate partners, consisted of a reinforced concrete-framed brick clad building, with a steel framed clad building attached, to provide hanger space for two helicopters if required and a fleet of cars. The project also included creating two helipads at 28 metres each.

The build in total required over 90,000 bricks and 25,000 concrete blocks in construction and 2,000 litres of paint for the internal decoration.

Within the concrete main building there is a state-of-the-art clinical training suite with immersive room for live simulation, rest accommodation including four bedrooms with ensuite facilities, a kitchen and gymnasium (to support crew and staff fitness), offices, flight operations area plus catering and dining areas for the team.

Environmental design

Environmental considerations were a key element of the brief as the building was designed to passively keep itself and its occupants cool in the peak summer months and warm in the winter.

The new facility enables the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity to offset some of its carbon footprint, with its range of energy efficient features including air source heat pumps and 24 solar panels on the roof, with room for the same again to be incorporated in the future.

Not a single tree was removed to build the facility and there are now more trees onsite than when the construction project began, with the aim of planting more than 10,000 trees, shrubs, and hedges in the next few years.

Vital Services

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity operates and funds three air ambulances and three critical care cars covering six Midlands counties; the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Since 1991, the specialist clinical team has responded to more than 77,000 missions, making it one of the busiest air ambulance services in the UK.

Client Comment

The project has enabled the charity to combine its office and operations efforts under one roof, to broaden fundraising opportunities through commercialisation of the event space, reduce overheads and meet ever increasing patient complexities. The facility enables the charity to use the most advanced technologies on the market for quick and reliable flights and operations, to provide the critical public service, whilst providing state of the art training.

Hanna Sebright, Chief Executive of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, stated: “This new facility ensures our critical care team are equipped to treat the increasingly complex patient cases and enhance our daily lifesaving service, featuring a purpose-built clinical training facility and more suitable environment for our aircrew when they return from complex, stressful and challenging air ambulance missions.

“This highly sustainable project serves as a vital development for the whole of the region and modernises our critical service.”