Architects asked to rework Essex hospital plans to include more offsite construction

The architects working on one of the first schemes in the government’s 40-hospital rebuilding programme have been asked to rework designs to ramp up the use of modern methods of construction.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, is one of six that was awarded a share of £2.7bn in November 2019 – as part of the decade-long initiative.

Chorley-based practice Gilling Dod Architects is the main architect on the project, with CF Moller drafted in last year to work with the original team and “act as a second eye and critical friend”.

The hospital said the designs are being overhauled to ensure as much MMC is used as possible.

At its most recent meeting last month, the board of the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust said: “The architects have been working with technical advisors to redesign the building to ensure that we maximise the benefits of MMC.”

Bryden Wood is the technical advisor on the project.

The board papers added: “We are confident that this design will not only reduce construction time but will reduce cost of delivery and support the national programme’s drive for repeatability across the wider HIP [health infrastructure plan] programme.”

The government has said it wants its hospital rebuilding programme to focus on the use of modern methods of construction, offsite, net zero and repeatability of product.

The trust said the changes meant the design will not now be completed until the end of May.