Holistic approach to collaboration with Sonnemann Toon Architects

Why Sonnemann Toon?

Founded in 2002, Sonnemann Toon Architects has built a diverse portfolio spanning healthcare, commercial, and residential sectors. Providing architectural designs across the UK, Sonnemann Toon was set up by three partners more than 20 years ago.

As a practice, it prides itself on delivering excellence across often complex projects, with challenges ranging from installations within listed buildings, to building solutions designed to improve capacity and reduce backlogs These have been achieved quickly and efficiently through modern methods of construction, often within already occupied and operational settings.

How Vanguard Healthcare and Sonnemann Toon are working in harmony

Vanguard Healthcare Solutions and Sonnemann Toon have been working in collaboration on numerous projects, both modular and mobile, for around seven years. With Sonnemann Toon assisting in a variety of developments, these have varied, from site reviews, fire safety and space planning on NHS sites in the north of England, through to more major projects such as the current ongoing works at St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Sonnemann Toon has been working with Vanguard across the whole process, from materials layouts to storage of units and logistics. But critically, it has provided expert counsel across the following:

Fire safety strategy:

A crucial, and often challenging aspect of modular building design in general, the project team ensured that the new modular installations at St George’s would flow, and connect, with the rest of the hospital without negatively impacting the current environment.

Extensive mitigation and collaboration were required in terms of ramps and distances with a facility spanning three floors. Connections were made through existing link bridges while there was also a requirement to manage the complexity of three connections, in a very heavily mechanised building.

Patient and staff flow:

Often, there’s a requirement from NHS Trusts and large healthcare providers to complete a comprehensive evaluation of its whole estate, to ensure its patient and staff flow is efficient, safe and smooth. Vanguard and Sonnemann Toon conducted these evaluations across a number of sites, including St George’s to help configure existing and future layouts, including their surrounding environments.

With modular construction, this is even more crucial, as the project team has to work to a grid system, so that the orientation of each module and layout complies fully with Health Building Notes (HBN) and Healthcare Technical Memorandum (HTM) regulations.

HTM guidance typically covers the core elements of a building's infrastructure, including the engineering of the structure, gas pipelines, ventilation systems, and similar aspects. In contrast, HBNs are documents that provide more detailed instructions for specific use cases.

Retrofitting in an occupied and operational setting:

A key consideration within any modular build is for the facility to remain operational during any install, or retrofit, which can be challenging. All phasing works and logistics must work around this conundrum, to guarantee disruption to patients, clinicians and visitors is minimised. When helping to improve existing hospitals using modular build, you do not get the same luxuries as you do with a completely new hospital, where there are no personnel until the building is opened.

Time and again Vanguard and Sonnemann Toon have worked closely together to fine-tune this, with swift installations that overlap enabling works. For instance, when fulfilling enabling works, modules can be progressing thorough the manufacturing stage to accelerate the programme. In doing so, the impact of site noise is significantly reduced.

This is achieved through effective understanding of stakeholder requirements from a very early stage. Here, the team worked closely with clinicians to tease out the brief and then translate that into compliance schedules and compliant space planning.

Why this matters

Modular builds have become increasingly important to allow the NHS to address urgent healthcare demands quickly and efficiently. In partnering with Sonnemann Toon, Vanguard has helped reduce construction time and minimised disruption to hospital operations across the UK. This speed has been crucial in responding to growing patient numbers and the need for specialised facilities.

Sonnemann Toon’s expertise ensures modular builds are not only functional and compliant with health and safety regulations but also tailored to the specific needs of the healthcare environment, promoting patient well-being and staff efficiency, integrating them seamlessly with existing infrastructure.

The team’s knowledge of healthcare-specific requirements, such as infection control and patient flow, is essential in creating effective, adaptable, and sustainable hospital spaces.