Demolition of Imperial College Medical School building to make way for 16-storey scheme, close to Renzo Piano’s Cube office block
Plans have been submitted to Westminster council for a huge life sciences scheme next to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
Designed by HOK for developers Cohort Limited and Bartlet Asset Management, the 16-storey scheme, close to Renzo Piano’s Cube office block built by Mace, would accommodate more than 1,800 clinicians across 48,000sq m of floorspace.
It would be built on Praed Street on the site of the Imperial College Medical School building, which has been vacant since 2024 and has been deemed unsuitable for reuse.
Cohort said demolition of the existing building was “not a decision taken lightly” but would offer the opportunity to create a “sustainable, inclusive building that supports health innovation for decades to come”.
Called Paddington Hub, the project is being developed under a collaboration agreement with the neighbouring St Mary’s Hospital with construction scheduled to begin next year and complete in 2029.
HOK design principal David Weatherhead said the scheme would provide “much-needed specialist space for clinical life sciences”.
Bartlet Asset Management director David Miller added: “Paddington Hub represents a significant investment in Paddington’s future and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a world-class clinical life sciences hub next to St Mary’s Hospital.
“It will drive economic growth, support new jobs and strengthen the UK’s health innovation sector. By bringing researchers, clinicians and patients together, we can accelerate new treatments, improve outcomes and create meaningful opportunities for local people.”
HOK is also acting as landscape architect on the project with others on the team including planning consultant DP9, structural engineer AKTII and energy and transport consultant Ramboll.
Imperial College is pressing ahead with its own scheme to build a new academic building in west London specialising in Artificial Intelligence.
Multiplex, Mace, Bovis and Sir Robert McAlpine are all pricing the £300m deal which has been designed by Allies and Morrison.
Imperial has said the 12-storey building would “create a powerful engine for data science, AI and machine learning by bringing together computer scientists, mathematicians and business experts”.
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