Housing

Coppetts Wood House and Anne Bryans House
Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead

Newlon Housing Trust appointed calfordseaden as architect, structural engineer and employer's agent on this £9m development. Working with the London Borough of Camden and developers United House, Newlon Housing Trust's aim was to build new high quality accommodation for hospital staff.

Working in partnership with United House Limited and calfordseaden, Newlon Housing Trust successfully won the original competition against two other housing associations by putting forward an alternative, creative new build solution as opposed to the original brief to refurbish the existing two storey building. The scheme is on a particularly sensitive site that has seen significant development over the past 30 years. The site is adjacent to a neighbouring conservation area and is overviewed from parts of Hampstead Heath.

The creation of this new residential building, which stands on the site of the former William Gunn House, provides 141 flats for hospital staff and local authority nominations.  Coppetts Wood House consists of one and two bedroom apartments, as well as studio flats for single occupancy. The ten floors of the building help to provide double the amount of accommodation that was available at William Gunn House, helping to keep the staff from the hospital in the community where they work. Most of the residents of Coppetts Wood House have been moved from Anne Bryans house, a large tower block built during 1967 to provide housing for the hospital's staff. Due to its disrepair we have now started renovating this building so that we can provide high quality affordable housing to the staff within that building as well.

Despite the inherent difficulties in developing such a substantial scheme in this sensitive setting, calfordseaden were able to produce a design that met the client's brief in full and overcame the concerns of the planners and local residents regarding locating a large tall building within the existing landscape.

On Monday 20th October 2008, HRH The Duke of York, KG, Patron of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, officially opened Coppetts Wood House. On his visit to the development HRH The Duke of York was impressed by the accommodation available to the staff at the hospital and clearly moved by the delight shown by the new residents. Speaking to residents the HRH The Duke of York said "I am delighted to support this development as Patron of the Royal Free Hospital. I know it will provide much needed affordable accommodation to dozens of staff at the Royal Free, and that's crucial if we are to continue to attract high quality employees to London."

Client: Newlon Housing Trust

Contract Period: 3 years

Value: £16.5m

Services: Architect, Planning Consultant, Employer's Agent, Structural Engineer, M&E Consultant and CDMC