The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Headquarters
The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Headquarters
This pioneering project will create a new home for the UK Dementia Research Institute as a world-leading research centre where UCL’s Institute of Neurology; the UKDRI’s Headquarters and their NHS partner - the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) and UCLH, will join together to lead the global challenge to defeat dementia. It will lead the way in early diagnosis and uncover how to prevent dementia and provide the most comprehensive, coordinated neuroscience research centre in the world - from research at laboratory benches to patient care.
Working in collaboration with Hawkins\Brown and The Townscape Consultancy, we produced the Built Heritage chapter within a wider Environment Impact Assessment for a portion of the site on Grays Inn Road which includes the former the Eastman Dental Hospital and the Riddell Memorial Fountain (both Grade II listed), as well as the Former Royal Free Hospital and the Levy Wing – both buildings of local significance in the Bloomsbury Conservation Area.
The fundamental ambition for the wider masterplan around the Neurology Centre was to link Grays Inn Road and Kings Cross Road, enabling the wider East/West link across the ‘knowledge quarter’. The project involved significant redevelopment of the Eastman Dental Hospital; the demolition of the Levy Wing and a large proportion of the Former Royal Free Hospital; the potential relocation and alteration of the listed fountain and the construction of two new buildings. We assessed the impact of the demolition and wider redevelopment plans as well as the impact of the proposed new buildings on existing heritage assets (both designated, non-designated and undesignated) within a scoping area agreed with Camden Council.
Clients: UCL, UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London Hospitals, Medical Research Council, Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK
Architect: Hawkins\Brown
Main image: Courtesy of the architect