Leeds General Infirmary

The Jubilee Square development was part of the Leeds General Infirmary redevelopment. The artist Tess Jaray, was commissioned to design a contemporary theme for the hospitals redevelopment. Tess chose to work with CIS Street Furniture on this project.

This was never going to be a scheme cluttered with street furniture from a Victoriana catalogue. Products taken from initial drawings and sketches were transformed into a range of complimentary street furniture. Seating, lighting, bollards, tree grids and grilles were all specially designed by Jaray for Jubilee Square. The motif set up at the hospital entrance - a circle within a series of curves - is reflected in the lighting and seats, which are unique to the scheme.
'ART THERAPY'
Artworks by other artists, all paid for by sponsorship, have been acquired by the hospital for the interior to enhance the therapeutic environment. They are further evidence of the vigour of Arts in Healthcare's Arts Programme, all managed and overseen at Leeds by arts and environment co-ordinator Gail Bolland.
Initial data from new independent scientific research indicates a possible range of positive outcomes, both medical and psychological from the new hospital environment. In one particular ward recovery times have fallen by a day, with a parallel reduction in medication. Bolland stresses that the results more than justify the modest additional expense over standard schemes: "This is no abstract ideal. A rich visual environment brings very real benefits to patients and staff. This approach acknowledges the therapeutic importance of good environment, colour, lighting and the creative input of top-flight artists into key areas".