Scottish Hospital

LOCATION
Paddington NSW
CLIENT
Presbyterian Aged Care
DETAILS
9 apartments - Independent Living Units (ILUs)
Scottish Hospital architecture design by CM+

CM+ was the appointed architect for Scottish Hospital re-adaptation and restoration of the heritage listed Paddington property into nine Independent Living Units for aged care accommodation.

The Scottish Hospital, formerly called The Terraces Private Hospital and The Paddington Hospital, occupies a site renowned for its terraced gardens. This first stage of a broader redevelopment was completed in 2018, while the overall aged care complex, The Terraces, opened in early May 2019.

Built c1848 (architect and builder unknown), the residence known as The Terraces is rare in its aesthetic character, reflecting several construction phases over almost 150 years. The original building was a two-storeyed Victorian residence built for Henry Burton Bradley, and after several owners the site was acquired by a consortium of medical practitioners in 1901, and architect George Sydney Jones was commissioned to adapt the house into a private hospital. Re-designed in the Federation Arts & Crafts style, some of the walls and joinery survive from c1848, and are typical of Victorian detailing.

The Scottish Hospital has historic, aesthetic and social significance at the local level as a private hospital in the suburb of Paddington. It is representative of the conversion of large houses in Sydney to private hospitals that took place prior to the First World War. The site represents the subdivision of the early land grants in the suburb, and the early suburbanisation of Paddington. It has a long association with the Presbyterian Church in NSW, and its role as a health-care provider. Managed by Presbyterian Aged Care, Sydney since 1998 – the Scottish Hospital building was unoccupied from 2001 until now.

The main objective of the project was the re-adaptation and restoration of the heritage listed Paddington property for aged care accommodation, ensuring the conservation of the site’s historic, aesthetic and social value and based on best practice recommended in the Burra Charter and the CMP (completed in November 2010 by NBRS + Partners). The vision was to preserve the architecture and design, social and landscape history and horticulture for present and future use, and the design is strategically based upon the late 19th century period of the building as a grand residential mansion.

Conversion into nine Independent Living Units (ILUs), as part of a broader complex of residential aged care, the Scottish Hospital is the first stage to be completed. Additional to the careful restoration of the heritage fabric, each apartment has been designed with either a private courtyard or balcony, and direct connection to a central, communal lounge and a covered link that provides access to other on-site facilities. The restoration provides for residents with various levels of mobility, hearing and visual impairments allowing unfettered access to all facilities.

The Scottish Hospital has historic, aesthetic and social significance within Paddington and broader Sydney. The considered and sensitive conservation and adaptation of the architecture and design, social and landscape history and horticulture into a quality aged care facility, retains the property for future enjoyment and integrity of the built fabric and gardens.