Ayrshire Hospice located within a residential and designated Conservation area incorporates two listed 19th-century villas, extended during the 1980s and 1990s. As existing clinical facilities no longer met modern standards, a major redevelopment was initiated.

The new 4,500sqm facility welcomed its first patients in summer 2025, and integrates the historic villas and adjacent listed structures, with modern clinical accommodation and social spaces.

Austin-Smith:Lord designed and delivered a modern, fit-for-purpose facility that enhanced specialist palliative care, supported patient wellbeing, and reinforced the hospice’s role within the community.

The central requirement of the brief was the creation of a new in-patient unit, containing 12 single en-suite bedrooms designed to provide privacy, dignity, and access to the gardens. The brief also identified the need for a range of social and communal spaces, offering both private and shared areas for patients, families, and visitors.

Dedicated day services spaces were also required, ensuring the Hospice could continue to deliver outpatient care and community support. The redevelopment also provided an opportunity for consolidation of administrative, finance, and fundraising functions into the  development.

The inclusion of a community café and other shared facilities were also key, with an emphasis on therapeutic design, access to external spaces, and the adaptive reuse of parts of the existing complex.