Aimed at advancing eye care, the Oriel is a joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and Moorfields Eye Charity. It will see services move to a brand-new integrated centre on part of the five-acre St Pancras Hospital site.

Two acres have been earmarked for the Oriel, with Moorfields acquiring the land from Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust earlier this month through an NHS-to-NHS transaction approved by the Secretary of State for Health.

These milestones follow final NHS and government approval for the centre in November last year, and Camden Council granting full planning permission in August 2022.

With the award of the £300m contract, demolition of six buildings currently on the Oriel site will now begin, and construction of the 10-storey, 47,000 sqm centre will start later this year.

Preparation work started on the site in autumn last year, under an early works agreement with Bouygues UK. A full construction programme has now been devised, with the building due to open in 2027.

The new centre – part of the New Hospital Programme – will harness the expertise of the partners under one roof and enable closer collaborative working between clinicians and researchers to speed up the delivery of new patient treatments and therapies.

“These latest developments move us firmly into the construction stage of the project,” said Martin Kuper, Moorfields’ chief executive. “We’re excited to be working with Bouygues UK to build our state-of-the-art centre, which will support our reputation for excellence and our ability to deliver outstanding care for our patients.”

Professor Alan Thompson, dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, commented: “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, added: “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 new centre will be located in the heart of the Knowledge Quarter science and innovation hub, close to the UCL Bloomsbury campus. The wider St Pancras Hospital site is being developed by Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership. The proposed development will provide modern, accessible and sustainable mental health facilities, as well as new offices, homes, retail, leisure and public spaces.

Fabienne Viala, chair of Bouygues Construction in the UK, declared the Oriel project an “incredibly exciting opportunity” for the firm, with social value at the heart of its development plans.

“We’re so proud to be the leading contractor for this innovative building, which will be an exemplar for accessibility, tailored to the needs of its patients, and designed flexibly to meet their future needs. As with all our projects, social value will be key for us and we’re looking forward to working with the Oriel partners, Camden Council and the Knowledge Quarter to unlock training and employment opportunities for local people to create a lasting legacy in the community.”

Lead architect on the project is AECOM, working alongside lead design architect Penoyre & Prasad. White Arkitekter is serving as design architects for the public spaces, including interior & landscaping. The hospital is targeting LEED Platinum certification.