{"id":722531,"date":"2023-12-11T09:34:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T09:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=722531"},"modified":"2023-12-11T09:49:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T09:49:04","slug":"retrofirst-stories-how-spparc-aims-to-save-a-gold-medal-winning-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/retrofirst-stories-how-spparc-aims-to-save-a-gold-medal-winning-hospital","title":{"rendered":"RetroFirst stories: how SPPARC aims to save a Gold Medal-winning hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

With up to 40 per cent of carbon emissions coming from the construction industry, the profession needs to find ways of adapting the type of buildings it designs, and fast. The default option for any project should be to adapt and re-use an existing building, one of the key demands of the AJ\u2019s\u00a0RetroFirst campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our ongoing series seeks to celebrate the projects that save buildings from ruin or give them new life.<\/p>\n

Today we hear from Trevor Morriss, principal and founder of SPPARC, about the practice\u2019s recently-submitted plans to transform Hammersmith\u2019s derelict and dilapidated former Royal Masonic Hospital \u2013 vacant since 2006 \u2013 into a mixed-use scheme with housing, a care home and cultural and community spaces.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ravenscourt Park -existing<\/p>\n\t

Source:TT Group <\/p><\/div>\n

Tell us about the scheme.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Trevor Morriss<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

The proposal is the conversion of the Grade II*-listed former Royal Masonic Hospital in Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith.<\/p>\n

Designed by renowned Scottish modernist architect Thomas Tait and built by the London Freemasons, the building won a RIBA Gold Medal in 1933 and 8,600 servicemen were treated there during the Second World War. But the dilapidated facility has now been derelict for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n

The scheme for the TT Group<\/a> will repurpose the derelict site with a mixed-use scheme across four heritage buildings and two new buildings, with 24,155m\u00b2 of cultural, care home, and residential uses. <\/span><\/p>\n

The restoration will retain and restore many of the building\u2019s early 1930s design features, including Art Deco-style frontages and balconies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

SPPARC’s Former Ravenscourt Park Hospital Proposal<\/p>\n\t

Source:SPPARC<\/p><\/div>\n

What are the challenges of the site?
\n<\/strong>The challenge is to balance heritage retention and modern intervention to ensure the buildings meet the requirements of modern regulations, including access, fire strategy and thermal performance.<\/p>\n

The project has adopted a sensitive, heritage-led approach. The important historic plan form of the connected ground-floor hospital wings has been retained to maintain the legibility of the original use, while duplex units over the ground and first floors create unique and special residential units.<\/p>\n

The original staircases, which express themselves externally, have been retained with new internal cores so as not to detract from the clarity of the original vertical circulation.<\/p>\n

Was demolition or partial demolition considered?
\n<\/strong>The Grade II*-listed status of the campus dictated the design approach. However, a low-quality extension constructed in the 1970s, which has an uneasy relationship with the heritage buildings, is to be replaced with a more sensitively conceived purpose-built care home and residential buildings.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Aside from retaining the original fabric, what other aspects of your design will reduce the whole-life carbon impact of the building?
\n<\/strong>The energy strategy consists of passive design and measures, such as the provision of energy-ef\ufb01cient lighting and time and temperature zone heating controls.<\/p>\n

Ground source heating and cooling is an increasingly common form of low-carbon space conditioning. The geological conditions of the site are favourable for open loop drilling, with very good conductivity anticipated. The site extents are ample to allow two pairs of water wells to be suf\ufb01ciently separated to minimise the risk of interference between the wells, with a minimum of 50m between abstraction and injection.<\/p>\n

The installation of the ground source system will deliver annual CO2 savings in the region of 350 tonnes a year over a gas-fired system, and 70 tonnes a year over an air source heat pump system.<\/p>\n

Are the planners supportive of the proposals?
\n<\/strong>Yes. The principle of providing a viable use to a series of fine Grade II*-listed buildings that have been on the Historic England risk register for a number of years received early support from the local planning authority. The design has had to balance matters of scale and materiality to ensure a successful cohabitation of heritage fabric with modern interventions.<\/p>\n

The building was vacant and fell into disrepair between 2006 and 2022. Since TT Group acquired the site in 2022, they\u2019ve been looking after the building and stopped any further damage. It\u2019s vital that planning permission is gained so that this terrific building can be properly restored.<\/p>\n

What aspects of the project could you apply on other developments?
\n<\/strong>Understanding how well-conceived buildings are able to lend themselves to future adaptation across a number of uses. Applying these principles across all of our projects to ensure our schemes consider a future of adaptability with minimal intervention.<\/p>\n

Is your approach to retrofit and the way you talk about it with clients changing?
\n<\/strong>SPPARC has always been interested in exploring a retrofit-first approach. What is reassuring is the widespread adoption of this initiative with our clients and collaborators.<\/p>\n

\"\"

SPPARC’s Former Ravenscourt Park Hospital Proposal<\/p>\n\t

Source:SPPARC<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest in an AJ series looking at architects who have saved buildings from demolition or given them a new lease of life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138919,"featured_media":722599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[4981,5950,6196,1342,4543],"yoast_head":"\nRetroFirst stories: how SPPARC aims to save a Gold Medal-winning hospital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The latest in an AJ series looking at architects who have saved buildings from demolition or given them a new lease of life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/retrofirst-stories-how-spparc-aims-to-save-a-gold-medal-winning-hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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