Presenting EAAA and Helimed House architects, Feilden + Mawson LLP with the Community Award, the Norfolk DCA recognise and celebrate projects throughout the county that improve the built environment and have positively impacted local people.

Helimed House, which was officially opened in 2021, is a multi-function facility serving as a home for charity ground staff and as a specialist site, enabling EAAA’s life-saving service to operate 24/7 by air and road. It also includes state-of-the-art training facilities for Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM) clinicians, such as an immersive, simulation suite, and provides adequate rest and welfare facilities required for a 24/7 life-saving operation.

“The scope of the East Anglian Air Ambulance service is mind blowing. I could not stop thinking about, or talking about, the work that EAAA do and the success of this project in supporting the expansion of the air cover to a 24-hour service. The building is an honest, and non-ostentatious translation of the ambition of the organisation and should be applauded for maintaining a high quality of detailing, focus on the end users experience and sustainable credentials when delivering a one-off exemplar project as a charity client. ”

DCA Judge

We receive no regular government funding and rely almost entirely on the generosity of the public, so we were incredibly mindful of the trust and kindness of EAAA’s supporters throughout the entire project. Mainly funded by generous gifts in Wills, the result is an operational and community space to support life-saving work long into the future.

Helimed House also offers ‘The Hub’, a dedicated and flexible community space suitable for events. The Hub has hosted training sessions, workshops, meetings, and conferences, supporting EAAA to connect us even more to the community that keeps us in the air and on the road.

EAAA Estates Manager, James Edwards says: “We are proud that Helimed House has been presented with a Norfolk Design and Craftmanship Award. From the outset, Architects Feilden + Mawson recognised that EAAA’s supporters and community is at the heart of everything we do – and the result is an incredible space and facilities that will support EAAA to serve the community for years to come.”

Helimed House was built with vital input from the following companies:

Architects: Feilden & Mawson

Interior Designers: Feilden & Mawson

Project Managers and Cost Consultants: REAL Consulting

Main contractors: P J Spillings

Consulting Engineers: Canham Consulting

Mechanical and Electrical Consultants: Johns Slater Haward

The Norfolk Design and Craftmanship Awards took place at Norwich’s Assembly House on Thursday 16 November.