Artist brings 'joyous' colour to Brighton hospital revamp

Kate Blee has created colourful glazed ceramic tiles to line the columns at the new main entrance of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

“Colour in hospitals is often insipid,” the artist said. “I wanted to deliver joyous colour.”

Kate Blee stands beside one of the columns covered in her ceramic tiles (Image: UHS NHS)

According to the hospital, the new main entrance will welcome one million people through its doors each year.

Kate said: “Brighton is full of colour. It is in the architecture and the attitude of the city, and I wanted this work to resonate with that mood and have a positive emotional influence.”

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She was also asked to contribute to the welcome desk and lighting design.

The desk and light installation at the new entrance (Image: UHS NHS)

The desk shape is based on the hull of a boat which the hospital says links it to Brighton’s coastal landscape.

The lighting structure uses the same colour palette as Kate’s columns.

“The structure delivers light, sound insulation, colour and form to the area above the desk – highlighting it as the heart of the space and the first point of contact,” said Kate.

The building is due for completion towards the end of the year and patients will start moving in during spring 2023.