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VIEWS The balconies cantilever with the support of three thin piers
Block B’s iconic sun decks will also be retained as private balconies
costs and maximising effi ciencies, hospital layouts refl ected an understanding that the basic principles of plentiful sunlight and fresh air are fundamental to good health. As an example of this design philosophy, the hospital’s largest ward block, Block B, is oriented south to maximise the amount of light entering the wards, with its U-shaped layout overlooking a communal garden. Perhaps the most iconic feature of the hospital’s Modernist style, the semi-circular sun balconies on Block B’s private wards also refl ect these principles. Made possible by the work of Swedish engineer Sven Bylander, the balconies cantilever with the limited support of three thin piers, representing a major innovation in welding and thin concrete design for the time. These provided patients with access to fresh air, while their glass tiles allowed natural light to penetrate all levels.
A testament to the quality of its design, the hospital would go on to enjoy over 60 years in operation, remaining self-funded even after the National Health Service was established in 1948. Financial diffi culties would eventually lead to its closure in 1994, re-opening as an NHS Diagnostic and Treatment Centre in 2002, before shutting its doors for good just four years later. With no further identifi ed need for a hospital on the site, SPPARC’s sensitive conversion into residential use and a care home will meet local needs and targets while continuing its historic use by the healthcare sector. An extensive public consultation process revealed enthusiasm for these new uses along with support from both Historic England and the 20th Century Society. In many ways, Ravenscourt Park Hospital represents one of London’s largest ongoing heritage restoration projects. After two decades of vacancy, the former hospital has, unsurprisingly, fallen into disrepair. The project will clean up the buildings’
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heritage exteriors, with sensitively crafted interventions and additions of varying scale. Landscaping works will restore the original ornamental water feature, built-in planters, garden walls, gates, lighting, and clock. While some of SPPARC’s heritage work elsewhere requires relatively more intervention due to these buildings’ original uses – like the transformation of Olympia’s Grade II listed former multi-storey car park into a school and 5-star hotel – Ravenscourt Park Hospital’s plan form lends itself well to residential conversion. As an emphasis on wellbeing rises to the fore of housing design, there is much that modern architects can learn from the hospital’s deliberately generous open space and wall-to-window ratios. Blocks B to D, the former hospital’s operational core, will be turned into spacious new housing from one-bedroom apartments to family offerings. Internally, existing fl oor levels and cores will be maintained, remodelling these where needed to meet modern space standards, fi re safety requirements and inclusive design principles. In many cases, SPPARC was able to come up with innovative ways to subtly incorporate the original plan form into the new use, for example, by repurposing the nurses’ rooms as dining rooms and living spaces. Overall, signifi cant historic fabric will be retained to maintain the legibility of the original design and former use. Block B’s iconic sun decks will also be retained for residential use as extraordinary private balconies. Even where some heritage features cannot be retained in situ, SPPARC has sought to relocate them to another part of the site. This includes moving the original ceramic tiles from the former children’s wing on Block B to the entrance at Block A. Ravenscourt Park Hospital is, in my
view, too architecturally signifi cant to remain hidden away from the public any longer. New public spaces and routes have
been carefully designed to ensure the site’s permeability without compromising the privacy of residents. The former entrance block, Block A, will house fl exible spaces for hire for classes, talks, events, and other similar uses. Thankfully, most of its heritage features remain surprisingly intact to this day, including some of the interwar period’s most lavish interiors and two Greek-style Gilbert Bayes sculptures fl anking each side of the entrance that, in a nod to its hospital use, represent Healing and Charity – all of which will be carefully restored under SPPARC’s supervision. At SPPARC, our approach to heritage – from Olympia to the Saville Theatre – is grounded in a belief that modern additions should not copy their host architecture, but instead be worthy of it. Tait’s masterplan for the hospital originally envisaged another ward block to mirror Block A. Though the site’s boundaries do not allow us to replicate this vision exactly, SPPARC’s designs for a new Block E and F are in the spirit of that original masterplan. Housing further residential units and the care home, respectively, the new buildings adopt a strong masonry palette that refl ects on the listed buildings, without seeking to imitate them. These will replace a low-quality 1970s addition to the site that blocked off access from Ravenscourt Square to the west, with the new Blocks E and F sharing the Modernist era’s ambition of unadorned surfaces celebrated through well considered detail and a carefully planned layout. Across the site, we are implementing an all electric energy strategy that includes the installation of ground-source heat pumps, the most sensitive approach for the listed buildings that maintain a clear roof. Rather than working against the heritage
onsite, SPPARC’s revival of Ravenscourt Park Hospital celebrates the design principles that informed the hospital’s layout in the fi rst place. Though nearly a century since it was fi rst constructed, its focus on the basic principles of air, sunlight and access to the outdoors has a timeless quality that architects would do well to draw on today.
Trevor Morriss is principal at SPPARC ADF MARCH 2026
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