© Murphy Philipps 2025
Cambridge
Fulbourn Resource Centre is a community mental health facility for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT). Situated in a pleasant, wooded area of the existing site, the building repurposes 25 modular units from nearby Papworth Hospital.
The innovative reuse of the building module was a key objective in the project and helps support CPFT’s aims of achieving net-zero by 2045.
The Resource Centre was carefully designed to meet the needs of its staff and service users, many of whom require intensive mental health support.
Housing a gym, offices, social, and recreational spaces, as well as physio and occupational therapy areas, the uplifting design exceeded CPFT’s expectations of destigmatising Mental Health. Therapies provided in the Centre include music, art, and drama, alongside support from the Heart and Soul Chaplaincy team.
A significant challenge of the project was transporting the units. Each module was wrapped weathertight before being lifted out of Papworth Hospital. Upon arrival at Fulbourn the empty shells were ready for interior renovation within four days of delivery. As the original units didn’t achieve modern insulation standards these were reclad to meet building regulations and satisfy planning requirements.
Delivering a number of benefits for the local community, the centre acts as a gateway to the hospital. The Edge Café provides a welcoming facility for the community. It is run by a social enterprise that enhances the employability of those who may struggle to find work including ex-offenders and Fullburn Hospital services users.
Significantly reduced time on site and the avoidance of new materials being manufactured, transported and installed, reduced both costs and carbon footprint.
Repurposing the modular units into a new building diverted a significant amount of waste from landfill. Greenhouse gas emissions were also cut and CPFT decarbonised its hospital estate by 144 tonnes of carbon.
As a result the building achieved BREEAM Very Good.
The project won “Best Modular or Mobile Healthcare Facility” at the Building Better Healthcare awards in 2024
