Topping out for hospice atrium

A ceremony was held at the construction site of the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Byng Road, Barnet, to mark the topping out of an atrium designed as a welcoming focal point for children and families.

The Ark is the first purpose-built children’s hospice for north and central London and is due to open in February next year.

It will provide accommodation for overnight stays, sensory music and art rooms for children with life-threatening conditions, 24-hour end-of-life and post-death care, and also become the base for community and hospice-at-home services.

Welcoming local residents and supporters to the topping-out ceremony, the hospice’s chief executive, Ru Watkins, said the central atrium would be the hub of a new caring community.

“The atrium is where we want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable, open to the community, and where children will feel at home, where their families can drop in and out.

“When we move into the Ark next February we will be able to offer so much more and finally we will be able to provide the care and support that children and their families have been asking for.”

Fund raisers laid foundation bricks at a similar ceremony in March and construction is proceeding at a rapid pace. Timber supports are now in place for the atrium and the walls of the four wings that will lead off it are already several feet off the ground.