Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at 41-51 Bolsover Street
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at 41-51 Bolsover Street
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is a specialist orthopaedic hospital located in the London Borough of Harrow, United Kingdom, and a part of Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. It provides the most comprehensive range of neuro-musculoskeletal health care in the UK, including acute spinal injury, complex bone tumour treatment, orthopaedic medicine and specialist rehabilitation for chronic back pain. The RNOH is a major teaching centre and around 20% of orthopaedic surgeons in the UK receive training there.
The RNOH has had a central London outpatients clinic on Bolsover Street since 1909. In 2006, this closed and a new facility on the same site was built, completing in 2009.
We worked with architects HoK as the lead structural engineers for the project to create a new 12,000m2 building comprising 100 units of market-rate and affordable housing, contemporary office space, parking and an outpatient orthopedic clinic.
The building is arranged around two attractively landscaped courtyards. In a nod to the site’s healthcare history, its primary facades are composed of Spanish limestone that integrates public art in the form of colored glass fins depicting abstract images of MRI scans. Vertical bay windows fabricated from anodized aluminum and glass accent the building. To reflect the sun and maximize light, elevations overlooking the courtyards are clad in light zinc tiles.
The hospital’s former waiting hall—a 1927-listed building—is connected to the apartment’s building’s main entrance on Bolsover Street. The team preserved the historic structure’s Roman Classical architectural character while creating more than 3,000 square feet of office space.
Sustainable design strategies include ground-source heat pumps, biofuel boilers, and green walls and roofs. We were involved in understanding the logistics involved with forming 18 closed loop boreholes up to 150m deep, and integrating them and the distribution pipe network within the basement and foundation design. We assisted HoK and M&E engineer in coordinating the location of the boreholes and distribution pipework between the structural elements in the ground, and commented on the structural engineering effects of the proposed drilling method on the existing and new buildings.
The scheme has been developed to BREEAM Ecohomes Standard ‘Excellent’.
Client: Ridgeford Properties
Architect: HoK