The 1.2 hectare Middlesex Hospital site presents an opportunity to create an exemplary mixed-use urban block in central London. The scheme replaces an accumulation of 1920s hospital buildings with three blocks of accommodation enclosing a green space that provides a new public amenity for the area.The divisions between the buildings extend adjoining streets as routes into the garden, where the hospital's Grade II* listed Victorian Gothic chapel is preserved.
The northern and western buildings house the residential accommodation, offices are housed in the eastern building and retail units are located along the southern perimeter at ground level. Exterior elevations reflect the surrounding urban fabric, featuring red sandstone cladding and slate mansard roofs. By contrast, the interior elevations employ a palette of white opaque and clear glass accented by colour, ensuring that the garden area has a distinctly different character and aspect.In addition to the efficiencies offered by creating a dense mixed-used scheme in the heart of the city, the scheme generates its own energy using a CHP central system. Biomass boilers are used throughout, and green sedum roofs limit rainwater run-off.
