Refurbishment of GPs surgery in London

Surgery refurbishment under way in London.

Fusion Office Design are halfway through the refurbishment of a 3600 sq ft building in West Brompton, London. A former NHS GPs surgery, the new occupiers are a medical clinic using the premises for a specialist medical service. The refurbishment of the building has been a back-to shell project stripping out virtually the entire building. From new patient-entrance front doors to an entire re-wire with Mains distribution board, virtually every element of the M&E services are being renewed. Works include a full external redecoration, new windows in a heritage conservation zone, and every finish on every floor. Planning permission has been obtained for some relatively minor external changes, in a largely painless process with the positive support and assistance from RBKC planning department.

Conserving the fabric of the building.

The project does retain all period features still remaining in a building that was last updated in ’96 as a local NHS GPs surgery. One of the first uses of the building for medical purposes was for childrens health care dating back to the ’30s, and the new clinic will return the site to its early days in an Obstetrics capacity. The main Victorian core of the building in the Boltons conservation area dates back to mid 1800s. During the extensive strip-out phase our team uncovered layers of refurbishment and original construction all overlaid. Lathe and plaster walls mix with concrete risers. Massive wooden joists and cast plaster skirtings sit near to solid floors and a lift shaft. The building is a testament to changing construction methods, making refurbishment much more of an adaptation process than usual. Caught very much in the cross fire is the Program. Sensible timelines that apply to modern commercial buildings just don’t fit with victorian era buildings. Fortunately the accreditation process for CQC vetting isn’t a fast track either, so the Program isn’t as under-pressure as some projects.

The scheme started in January and will be handed over at the end of April. The site team have observed that this could easily be the 6th or 7th major refurb the building will have endured over its 175 year history. We wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an equal number of updates stretching over the next 175 years, so long as we can track down that infernal leak from the roof.

Images of the refurbished medical clinic to be posted soon. Meanwhile please get in touch with Fusion Office Design if you want more information on this or any other refurbishment project.