David Morley to draw up plans for 拢400m St Mary鈥檚 hospital, originally part of failed 拢1bn PFI health campus

David Morley Architects and consultant Turner & Townsend have won places on the proposed 拢400m redevelopment of St Mary鈥檚 hospital in Paddington, west London.

Morley has been appointed architect and masterplanner and Turner & Townsend is cost and programme consultant for the scheme, which could be adopted as a template for future NHS trusts.

Although at this stage the consultants are only acting as advisers to make the strategic case for the hospital, the scheme could be the first example of 鈥渟mart PFI鈥�, whereby a design is agreed by the NHS trust and then bid for by PFI consortiums.

The St Mary鈥檚 project follows the controversial Paddington Health Campus PFI scheme, which collapsed last year after costs topped 拢1bn.

Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, St Mary鈥檚 partner in the abortive venture, is considering other potential development sites.

Morley beat four prominent healthcare architects including 黑洞社区 Design Partnership and Anshen Dyer to win St Mary. It has recruited architects Greenhill Jenner and Urban Strategies to work on the scheme, which will be managed in-house by St Mary鈥檚 NHS Trust.

Jonathan Wilson, a partner at Morley, said the project should 鈥渂reak the mould of urban hospital design鈥�.

He said: 鈥淭he trust has a very clear idea that it wants a fully designed exemplar scheme with clinical planning, community consultation and a high level of detail. It would have outline planning consent, so that the trust could go to the market with the scheme. They are also toying with the idea of novating the design team to the successful bidder.鈥�

Whereas St Mary鈥檚 currently occupies sites south of the Paddington canal basin, Morley has been asked to look at a site to the north.

Wilson said: 鈥淥ne option is to develop a 1960s school there that is owned by the council. You could get the whole hospital on that one site in a podium and tower.

鈥淭he other main option is to develop piecemeal near the existing hospital. And then there are hybrid options of developing on both sides of the basin.鈥�

In 2002, Morley carried out a similar detailed exemplar scheme for Sherwood Hospital near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, although in the event it was not adopted.

The smart PFI route, which has been backed by the RIBA, is less popular with contractors who prefer to have more control over the process by being involved at the early stages of a design.