Optegra Eye Hospital

It is a stunning building. Housed in two conjoined period houses fused into a single, high-functioning space, the refurbished facility combines historic elegance with modern ease and comfort. The result is a fully operational, state-of-the-art eye hospital offering ophthalmic consultancy services and surgery under one roof. Facilities include a dedicated refractive suite, spacious consulting rooms, two operating theatres, recovery suites and a floor for staff including a south-facing roof terrace.

Every aspect of the design aims to maximise flow and minimise tension, producing a calm environment that puts patients at ease and allows for an efficient but personalised service. Glass is used extensively to bring natural light right through the building, while warm tones create a welcoming feel. Carefully chosen artworks and historic detailing maintain continuity with the Victorian and Edwardian façade, and contribute to the high quality patient experience.

As building services designer for the project, our key challenge was meeting the needs of a high-spec hospital within the existing period structure. This called for a disciplined approach to services coordination, and we used 3D Revit to design key components, and ensure full coordination of the most challenging areas, before work started on site.

Roof-mounted, air-cooled 200kW-chillers are used for cooling, while a 190kW-boiler – plus domestic hot water calorifiers – satisfy heating and hot water needs from a dedicated fourth-floor plant room. Air handling plants on the roof and basement of the building provide ventilation to the consulting and back office spaces, and specialised air systems are used for the three operating theatres (2 full theatres located on level 3 and one smaller refractive theatre in the basement) and recovery rooms.

The hospital was built on a very tight timetable, with just six months for design and 12 months for construction. Our close working relationship with the client, architect and project manager, built up over previous Optegra projects, helped to keep the programme on track – and deliver it on time.