An art deco-modernist style former hospital in west London is set to become a highly desirable place to live.
The Ravenscourt Park Hospital in Hammersmith was opened in 1933 by the King and Queen, as the Freemasons' Hospital. Originally containing 200 beds, it was branded 'a hospital of silence': "No electric bells have been permitted in the building," wrote the Daily News in 1933, "Instead various coloured electric lights give the signal for doctors, surgeons and nurses." The hospital — designed by modernist practice Burnet, Tait and Lorne— won RIBA's Gold Medal award that same year.
The handsome redbrick confection with a stylish clock face, and an interior that features sleek wood panelled board rooms, and streamline fireplaces (now Grade II* listed) closed as a hospital in 1994, re-opened as an NHS hospital in 2002, then closed again in 2006, — later being added to Historic England's Heritage at Risk register.
Now, TT Group — one of the UK's largest privately owned real estate investors and developers — has received a resolution from Hammersmith and Fulham Council to grant planning permission to turn the building into 140 new homes, a 65-bed care home and community use spaces. The plans include demolishing a 1970s extension replacing it with the care home, as well as adding a glassy extension to the roof, and nestling an outdoor pool in the courtyard.
Says Trevor Morriss, Principal at SPPARC, the architectural practice tasked with pivoting the former hospital, "As one of Britain's very first examples of the international modernist movement, this landmark of inter-war design is deserving of a new use that honours both its historic and architectural significance. With every aspect of the masterplan designed to respect and pay tribute to the original art deco design, the planning consent will ensure that the former hospital can once again return to meaningful use that puts an end to nearly 20 years of vacancy."
Not everyone is content with the plans, however. Local organisations, including the Hammersmith Society, have suggested that planned alterations — especially the new roofline — would "destroy the wonder of this building."
Back in 1933, the entire hospital cost £335,000 to set up. When it reopens in its new residential guise, you'd do well to get yourself a single-bed flat for that price. Only 21 of the apartments will be classified as 'affordable'.
