This was a very diverse sector, covering care homes to hospitals and hospices, with one of the most interesting trends being the bringing together of clinical delivery and medical research, something which came up on the shortlist in both the mental health and acute illness sectors. Another was the number of building projects for children and younger people, plus a noteworthy clear reliance on philanthropic funding and the realisation that all could be positive therapeutic settings with high quality architecture. 

Challenges, though, included the density of development requested in briefs, but all on the shortlist had risen to that admirably.   

Notable by their absence, however, were any purely NHS-funded projects, a telling tale for our times.

The Ark, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice
Benjamin Prosky: ‘I think this is a very important project and done in a way that does seem like it’s a humane and restful place’.
Andreas Ruby:  If I was a child, I would love to be in such an environment. It feels not like a medical institution but a place where you are for some time’

Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Diseases in Children
Dominique Alba: ‘This is interesting, because they made a big effort in terms of climate and sustainability; that is not very easy with this sort of equipment. It’s not easy to have that sort of quality’

Unbuilt: John Morden Centre
Monica von Schmalensee: ‘It’s a very good, important project that it is well designed; it has both the scale and construction but also the aim of this project is very important. It looks very nice in its surroundings’.

Projects that are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of Londoners, young and old, from hospitals and healthcare facilities to housing for an ageing population.

John Morden Centre, Greenwich by Mæ

The Ark, Noah's Ark Children's Hospice, Barnet by Squire & Partners

The Kantor Centre of Excellence, Islington by Penoyre & Prasad

UCLH Phase 5, Camden by Pilbrow and Partners

Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, Camden by Stanton Williams