The Shields Centre

Case Study Highlights

This community hub in Pollokshields, Glasgow integrates traditional GP services with local social work services and community initiatives.

The Shields Centre, a new health and social care facility for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde expands on the idea of what a health centre embodies. The new centre offers traditional medical services with two GP practices on the ground floor, but also acts as a community hub bringing together local social work services, health initiatives and a community garden.

A&DS has produced a case study reviewing the process of creating this new health building. The case study will allow you to explore how:

- The new building successfully integrates traditional healthcare services with social work services and community initiatives.

- An extensive period of consultation enabled community members and stakeholder organisations to influence the design.

- The adaptive design was able to accommodate a change in the scope of the project at a relatively late stage.

- The design achieves an on street presence in a built up urban area.

- An on-site community garden forms an important part of the centre as a community teaching resource and rehabilitation tool.

This article gives you a flavour of the full case study and gives insight into some of the aspects of the development of the Shields Centre. 

"We had a lot of input from the community right from the start [...]We had an idea of what we wanted to provide, and we wanted to share that vision with local people and allow them to influence the way that they would use the building, and what they think would help encourage people to come to the building." explains Derek Rae (Project Manager of Capital Planning and Procurement at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.) 
Image by Keith Hunter

In terms of procurement, although the project would be delivered through the Scottish Government's Hub delivery vehicle process, it would not be based on the revenue-funding model that health centres generally adhere to. Following an invited tendering process, Glasgow based Anderson Bell Christie Architects were appointed to design the new centre with CBC Construction as main contractor.

Building Plan and Design

The new Shields Centre features a street facing two-storey curtain walled building set behind a double brick colonnade. Internally, two GP practices as well as a main reception area occupy the ground floor. A range of consulting rooms and group spaces accommodating a range of community health and welfare services are arranged across the first floor level.

"The building was seen as a focus for community engagement," explains Jonathan McQuillan, an Associate at Anderson Bell Christie and the Shields Centre Project Architect. “A large part of the briefing element was a response to the local BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) community, who account for almost 48% of the local population. The NHS was keen to ensure a high level of engagement with the community and a good uptake of services provided.”

“Another key part of the brief was to avoid any 'institutional' feel to the building,” explains McQuillan. “We wanted to create a more ‘homely’ or intimate feel overall, with the scale reflecting the surrounding sandstone tenements. Originally we wanted to match the response to the three storey tenements buildings but the programme of the building didn’t merit going up to three floors.”

The open plan arrangement means that as soon as you come through the front door you can see each of the doors to the GP practices along the building, as well as looking through to the community garden. The upper floor, with the various consulting and group meeting areas can also be seen. So, as you come in the front door you know exactly what your options are, where you should go and how you should get there.

The internal layout had been the subject of some lengthy design discussions. "There was some debate about the internal arrangements,” explains Derek Rae. “As the GP practices have the biggest footfall in a health centre situation, and as many GP visitors are elderly and infirm or young mothers with buggies, there's lots of reasons why you would locate them on the ground floor. This is slightly unusual as many new health centres are putting GP’s on the first floor - which is about trying to get them away from the main activity around people entering into the building and giving them a bit of space, a bit of quiet. So we had to absolutely make sure that our access arrangements and the relationship with the ground floor GP accommodation was as good as it possibly could be.”

"The building was seen as a focus for community engagement," explains Jonathan McQuillan, an Associate at Anderson Bell Christie and the Shields Centre Project Architect.

Image by Keith Hunter

Community Garden


One of the major assets of the Shields Centre experience, and one that has been particularly popular with its users in terms of health and wellbeing potential, is the small community garden created behind the entrance. Initially seen as a green "buffer zone" and shared space between the new centre and adjacent Community Centre, the initiative has since “grown arms and legs”, according to Jonathan McQuillan.

“There's a huge interest in community gardens at the moment. Before designing the Shields Centre, I was involved in designing a housing project for Govan Housing Association that included allotments. We suggested running the scheme as community gardens, where a trust is set up and the scheme is self-run. It’s been hugely successful, so basically we took all of the experience and learning from this project and applied it to the Shields Centre.”

The involvement of Urban Roots, a Glasgow based and community led collective who maintain it and drive its the function, has maximised its potential.

The garden has evolved into an important part of the centre, as a community teaching resource and as a rehabilitation tool, featuring as part of treatment plans for some of the centre's patients. "The GPs and also other services that use the building refer patients to Urban Roots to get involved in the garden either on a one-to-one basis or as part of the already established groups," explains Derek Rae.

"It's a lovely, big bright waiting area, very inviting for patients. Also, unlike the previous older health centre that I worked in there are no high desks with glass to sit behind. It's an open reception area which creates a friendlier atmosphere, taking away the feeling of 'them and us’ between the staff and patients."
-  Linda Edgar, The Shields Centre Practice Manager
Image by Keith Hunter
"Ultimately, the Shields Centre sends out a strong message of integrating health and wellbeing in its form and function," concludes McQuillan. “And that's what we set out to achieve.”

Read the full case study here. 

A&DS would like to thank the following for their time and candour:

Derek Rae - Project Manager - Capital Planning & Procurement NHSGGC Jonathan McQuillan - Associate - Anderson Bell + Christie
Linda Edgar - Practice Manager - Shields Centre

Images Courtesy of:

Anderson Bell + Christie and Keith Hunter