As the first step in a £65million regeneration scheme, the former Alexandra Surgery has relocated to the centre of Aldershot. With 6000 existing patients, the new surgery has provided space and facilities for the GPs to expand and serve more members of the community.

The former Citizen’s Advice Bureau has been extensively remodelled and extended to provide a building that not only fulfils the GP’s brief but is constructed to the latest Primary Care Trust Standards and is fully accessible.

Internally, the building has been arranged to maximise views of the adjacent park, particularly in key spaces such as the reception and waiting area. A large atrium provides natural light and a sense of space to this area.

The building houses 8 consulting rooms, 2 treatment rooms and a counselling room as well as admin offices, a meeting room and other facilities, with expansion space on the 1st floor to future-proof the building as they expand their services. The spaces are arranged in three separate ‘zones’ to provide extra security and privacy for the building users.
Externally, the existing building has been transformed with a new zinc roof, insulated render and new windows. The new entrance lobby, which faces the High Street, and the extension to the rear of the surgery continue these materials to seamlessly integrate the old and the new.

The new zinc roof follows the line of the existing roof, minimising the impact on the local surroundings. Privacy in the treatment rooms and security of the building has been considered with the careful use of planting around the building. This further minimises the surgery’s impact on the park.

The timescales were such that detailed design, planning and tendering all had to run in parallel. Using a two stage tendering process, works onsite started the day after
planning permission was granted.