The Alder Centre provides healing for bereaved parents and anyone affected by the death of a child. Established in 1987 by Mr John Ashton following the death of his own son, the Centre is a unique health service both in the UK and globally. Mr Ashton found that conversations with other bereaved parents provide the most support and understanding during the grieving process. The Alder Centre building is a small but key component in the continued development of the Alder Hey Health Park Campus. The brief was to create “A Place Like No Other” that will promote companionship and a place of sanctuary.
Previously, the service offered by the Alder Centre was carried out in an old building, with counselling services shoehorned into administrative offices overlooking a carpark. However, the new building for the first time offers the opportunity to provide purpose-designed, dedicated spaces to meet the needs of this highly specialised and sensitive service. The building is arranged like a big house. In the middle is the heart space which has a lounge and kitchen. It is where counsellors and families come to gather.
A series of counselling rooms, sized like bedrooms, unfold from the heart. There is also a flexible training room and office suite with a dedicated room for the Child Death Helpline, tucked away from the entrance. The external space is thought of as A Secret Garden, coming from the children’s book. An important feature of the design was the brickwork walls that continue out at the edge of the garden to define and secure it. The client body and users have been pleased that the Alder Centre continues the high-quality design aspirations of the recently completed main hospital and institute buildings, to provide a building of sanctuary and comfort that encourages companionship for users.