Great Ormond Street Hospital names architect for ambitious new centre for rare diseases

A new centre bringing together the country’s leading doctors and scientists to find effective treatments for children’s rare diseases has taken a significant step forward with the appointment of architects Stanton Williams.

The Children’s Rare Disease Research Centre will bring together clinicians from Great Ormond Street Hospital and researchers from University College London, in particular the UCL Institute of Child Health, to learn more about rare diseases and development new treatments.

It will form part of the third phase of an ambitious four-phase redevelopment of Great Ormond Street Hospital, which has already provided the new Morgan Stanley Clinical Building and will see construction work start on a second new clinical wing for the hospital next year.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity has already purchased land adjacent to the hospital and the UCL Institute of Child Health at 20 Guilford Street to house the new research centre for rare diseases. When funding is secured, the existing building onsite will be demolished and a new purpose-built research centre will be created, housing 5,500 square metres of laboratories, manufacturing facilities and clinical offices. The development will also provide much-needed outpatient clinical space, completing the translational research circle from pure research to practical patient treatment.

Stanton Williams was appointed from a strong field of architects after demonstrating the greatest suitability for the scheme and extensive experience on similar proposals.

The design team at Stanton Williams has already delivered the Stirling Prize-winning Sainsbury Laboratory, a plant science research centre at the University of Cambridge. The team’s other projects have included a Millennium Seed Bank built in West Sussex for the Royal Botanic Gardens, City University’s School of Social Sciences, the University of Arts London in King’s Cross, and the Clore Management Centre in Bloomsbury.

The selection panel also believed Stanton Williams’ design proposals responded best to the constraints of the site – which is located in a sensitive conservation area – and addressed the brief in the greatest detail. They showed a strong understanding of the objectives of the project, including addressing the need for a sustainable approach. They also provided a detailed methodology that included a focus on the briefing and design process, stakeholder engagement and a firm understanding of the timetable and cost constraints of the project.

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Director of Redevelopment, Matthew Tulley, said:

“Stanton Williams has an impressive track record of delivering state-of-the-art scientific facilities which are also beautifully designed, sustainable and sensitive to their surroundings.

“Our latest development, which includes the Children’s Rare Disease Research Centre, will be at the forefront of developing and delivering new treatments for children, and we’re excited to have appointed an equally dynamic partner to help us make the centre a reality.”

Gavin Henderson, director at Stanton Williams, added:

“We are delighted to work with Great Ormond Street Hospital on this exciting development. We see this as an opportunity to set a new benchmark for an outstanding research building that meets rigorous functional requirements, the sustainability agenda and reflects the pioneering ethos of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Institute of Child Health. Sitting in a prominent location, adjacent to the existing GOSH campus, the project is a wonderful opportunity to enhance the historic Bloomsbury streetscape, while providing an environment for spontaneous interaction between clinicians and academics and encouraging the creation of an ‘ideas factory’ to fuel new avenues of research.”