Wards 7 And 8, Hawkhead Hospital, Paisley

WARDS 7 AND 8, formerly the Cubicle Isolation Block, are a pioneering example of a cubicle isolation ward block constructed in the 1930s. The building occupies a gently sloping site and is flat-roofed with a streamlined design, forming a T-plan with a symmetrical layout. The long axis of the building faces south.

The principal elevation comprises a 15-bay, two-storey centre block flanked by bow-ended, single-storey wings. A balcony extends across the central 13 bays, supported by a cantilevered canopy which acts as a transom to the upper windows. The central three bays feature a slightly larger window. Five bays to each side are recessed cubicle wards, defined externally by blue-tiled piers with yellow bands separating metal-framed, glazed curtain walls, with a broad metal band at the base. Each cubicle bay has two-leaf doors providing access to a ground floor verandah and a first-floor sun balcony. The centre block is terminated by single windows, although a recent screen wall obscures the ground floor window on the left. The single-storey wings have a bow window with two lights on the return, topped with a flat roof and a terrace bounded by tubular steel railings. Vertical fins on the returns provide a distinctive feature to the facade.

The eastern elevation, viewed from the front, displays a three-light bow window with a fin to the right, which creates a cantilevered canopy over the ground and first-floor doors. A two-storey sanitary annexe extends centrally from a cubicle bay, connected to a two-storey service wing with six windows on both the ground and first floors, terminating in a tall stair window. A single-storey, canopied entrance bay is positioned to the right, flanked by screen walls featuring horizontal bands of yellow and white tiles separated by thin black tile bands. To the right of the entrance bay is a three-bay single-storey block with boarded-up windows and doors.

The western elevation is similar but with minor variations. A three-storey lift tower has been added behind the two-storey sanitary annexe. The service wing has a doorway flanked by yellow-tiled piers, sheltered by a canopy supported on two tiled piers. There is no stair window on this elevation. A single-storey bay to the left features two single windows, with all windows and doors currently boarded up.

The rear elevation features a single-storey, single-bay end to the service wing with a large tripartite window and a corner blue-tiled pier. The rear of the ward block extends to either side with single-bay projecting annexes, including later additions. The main block has a cantilevered canopy projecting outwards, culminating in semi-circular terminal fins supported by broad, dry-dashed piers with blue-tiled heads. These fins provide canopies to the doorways on the ground and first-floor returns, as well as a single-storey bow window extending behind them. The windows are largely boarded up.