A £300 million contract has been awarded to Bouygues UK to build an eye care, research and education centre for Moorfields and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
Based in North London, the Oriel project is a joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Charity and hospital and UCL. Services will move to a brand-new integrated centre in 2027. It will house the organisations’ National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre. The centre is designed to take advances from the laboratory to the clinic, enabling patients to benefit quickly from new scientific breakthroughs.
Demolition of six buildings on the site will now start. Construction of the 10-storey building will begin later this year. It will bring the partners under one roof enabling closer working between clinicians and researchers to speed up the delivery of the treatments and therapies.
Professor Alan Thompson, dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, said: “Oriel will allow us to drive forward real innovation to support our work in the long-term and strengthen our partnership with Moorfields in delivering real benefits for patients.”
Robert Dufton, Moorfields Eye Charity chief executive, said: “We’ve been working in partnership with our generous donors because philanthropy is a key part of the Oriel funding mix and has a vital role in securing the future of eye health on a global scale.
“We believe the new centre will provide patients, who are at the heart of everything we do, with the best treatments, faster.”
The building will be in the heart of the knowledge quarter, a hub for science and innovation. It is close to the UCL Bloomsbury campus and several NHS bodies, charities and businesses.
Oriel will be built on two acres of the St Pancras Hospital site. The remaining three acres are being developed by Camden and Islington NHS FT to provide mental health facilities fit for the 21st century, as well as offices, homes, retail, leisure and public spaces.
For more information visit www.oriel-london.org.uk