The Grade II Listed hospital was built in 1845 to serve London’s German-speaking community. Over its 142 operational years, the hospital grew with the needs of the locale before it was finally closed in 1987, and patients and staff were transferred to Homerton Hospital.
HTA remodelled and repurposed the listed buildings from 1994 to create homes for rent and shared ownership for families, general needs, and the rough sleepers initiative.
The conversion of the main hospital ward block required the consolidation of miscellaneous extensions – removing those that weren’t required and forming a new ground floor extension to provide larger family maisonettes and a roof terrace for the second-floor duplexes.
The retained buildings benefited from modernisation and were brought up to Building Regulation standards for energy performance. Roofs and Internal walls were insulated, windows were double glazed and matched to the originals, and flats were fitted with individual gas boilers. A new landscaped square was created between the Listed buildings, with play space and parking for residents.
Project Objectives
• Retain, remodel, and repurpose the 150-year-old Grade II listed buildings and give them a sustainable new life
• Deliver affordable rent and shared ownership homes in converted hospital blocks, alongside new-build family housing
• Provide a pedestrian and cycle route linking Graham Road to Dalston Lane, improving local connectivity
Challenges
• Converting a Listed Building and achieving Listed Building Consent and English Heritage (now Historic England) approval
• Floor-to-floor heights suited hospital wards and are not typically domestic
• While some interiors had been lost, the Nurses and Doctors houses had Listed interiors which needed to be retained
• Extensive dry rot and long-term water damage to one of the blocks made conversion unviable for a time. With a former administration block being unsuitable for conversion into housing
Approach & Solutions
• Close collaboration with Hackney’s conservation officer and English Heritage to agree practical proposals
• Conversion of the main ward building into three-storey duplexes with mezzanines, maximising volume while meeting domestic standards
• Acoustic treatment to separating walls, insulation behind retained ceilings and linings, and specialist fire protection
• Comprehensive refurbishment of retained buildings: new slate roofs, lead dormers, double-glazed timber windows, internal wall and roof insulation, new services and gas boilers
• The Nurses’ and Doctors’ houses were adapted with hidden insulation to preserve listed interiors
• The damaged administration block was converted to a centre for special needs
• A new landscaped square was introduced between the listed buildings, with play space, parking and refuse storage
Results
• 51 converted flats and duplexes were created in the listed buildings; a mix of one, two and three bedroom homes
• The flats met the spatial, energy and ventilation standards for 1994
• Now a 30-year-old remodelling and renovation of a 150-year-old building, the flats still function well today
• Support services were provided via the refurbished ancillary administration block
• The addition of 15 new build houses for the local area
• New Health Centre by Jefferson Sheard Architects
