The iconic Addenbrooke’s building, a former hospital now home to Cambridge Judge Business School, turned blue on Thursday 16 April to show support for the National Health Service (NHS) during the coronavirus pandemic.
The building turned a warm shade of blue and the words “NHS Thank You” appeared just above the main entrance, a light show put on by a local audiovisual company.
The spectacle coincided with the weekly Thursday evening “Clap For Our Carers” show of appreciation for NHS staff and other essential workers during the crisis, as people throughout the UK stand on doorsteps to applaud them.
Absolute Audio Visual Solutions, based in Litlington, about 15 miles south of Cambridge, came up with the idea to light a different iconic building around Cambridge each week. The previous week it was the huge air hangar at IWM Duxford. Managing Director Alex Parmee said the company wanted “to show our solidarity and appreciation for the NHS and in particular our local hospital, Addenbrooke’s”.
The building housing the School is a refurbishment and extension of the old Addenbrooke’s Hospital, first established on the Trumpington Street site in 1766.
As Cambridge Judge Business School’s history has long been entwined with Addenbrooke’s, and a dozen faculty and PhD students are currently working with Public Health England and the NHS in the East of England on projects related to coronavirus, the School is delighted to have been chosen for this colourful thank you to the essential and courageous work by NHS staff during the current pandemic.