Camden Council passed a resolution to grant planning permission for Oriel eye hospital on 30th June. The plans are approved for this £350m construction at St Pancras Hospital. This is a joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology (IoO), and Moorfields Eye Charity.
The aim is to construct a centre for eye health that brings together researchers, clinicians, and educators. Subject to approval by the Greater London Authority and conditions being met, Moorfields and the IoO will be able to relocate from their current buildings on City Road, Islington, to the St Pancras Hospital site in Camden.
The Oriel plans have been in the works since 2013. The plans were submitted to Camden Council for approval last November. Construction costs were estimated at £179m and overall capital costs at £352m, as of April 2020.
Penoyre & Prasad (a studio of Perkins & Will London) has designed the building along with Aecom providing expertise on engineering and sustainability and White Artkitekter on interiors and landscaping.
Aecom is providing project management services for Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL IoO to deliver the scheme, under a separate contract. Oriel is part of a wider masterplan for the five-acre St Pancras Hospital site.
The plans were being brought forward separately by King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) for mixed-use development on the remaining three acres of land. Oriel with Penoyre & Prasad design features has a central atrium with two wings containing all the departments.
Rising up through the centre of the atrium is a tower-like structure containing the main public circulation and access to the different departments. It is designed as an ‘adaptive building’ to accommodate different activities that may change over time.
English 