A21architects has been commissioned by Professor Kypros Nicolaides to design a pioneering new building at 1-4 Windsor Walk, London SE5. This state-of-the-art facility will serve as the home for the newly announced EMBRACE (Enhanced Maternal and Baby Results with AI-supported Care and Empowerment) scheme at King’s College London.
Fuelled by a record-breaking philanthropic donation from Inkfish – the EMBRACE scheme will develop a blended human-AI health assistant to support a diverse, international cohort of families from pregnancy through to a child’s second birthday. The proposed facility will build upon A21architects RIBA and AJ Retrofit award-winning success with the nearby The Fetal Medicine Research Institute (FMRI) in Denmark Hill.
To create a new home for the EMBRACE scheme, A21architects are working in close collaboration with Professor Kypros Nicolaides, the worlds most renowned Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, who is serving as a scientific advisor for EMBRACE. A21architects has been tasked with creating a clinical and research environment that seamlessly merges the digital innovation of the 60,000-person international cohort study with the empathetic, delivery of advanced NHS care.
The international multi-cultural multi-family nature of the study inspired A21architects to opt for a culturally neutral yet distinctive design, acknowledging the diversity of the study, while remaining ambitious and playful. Pregnancy is one of the most demanding physical and physiological processes a human body can endure, and up to a third of women experience lasting health impacts. The uncompromising ambition of the design aims to reflect the care and ambition EMBRACE has to improve outcomes for all involved.
The three primary white sandstone trilithon of solid vertical façade elements are designed to give presence and importance, they embrace each of the 3 distinct interconnected multi-story pods internally. The three stone elements draw the open plan atrium layout across the site . These iconic elements are then deconstructed within the boundary of their primary external form, using an overlapping and interlocking relief, carefully arranged to reveal ever changing, playful configurations at different viewing angles.
In response to the brief, A21architects have developed a highly adaptable open floor plan that consciously dispenses with traditional, restrictive clinical layouts. In a deliberate move away from the institutional feel of legacy hospitals, opting instead for a fluid, decentralized, welcoming sequence through the building linked together with the full height atrium.
Activity and lifestyle are key measures for the study so the physical and educational programmes in the building are primary. The floor plans present a mixed-use environment that includes a lecture theatre, teaching facilities, café linked to multiple breakout spaces, exhibition space, creche, yoga studio, gym, library, consulting rooms, laboratories, teaching kitchens, a rooftop garden, meeting and multi-purpose spaces.
This is all built around the open plan twin atria which provide abundant natural light to the interior, and feature interconnecting bridges at each level. Physical and psychological care are addressed in this design, this is a place for regular check-ups and repeat visits. This building will be a home from home for the participants, a place for both formal science, informal self-expression and self-care.
The spatial fluidity from the open plan approach ensures the interior can evolve dynamically, effortlessly accommodating the shifting, interdisciplinary needs of the EMBRACE research and clinical teams as the AI trials progress. The central circulation atrium proved popular at the nearby Fetal Medicine Research Institute, the proposals for this new scheme include and further develop this typology. The purposefully compact floorplan limits travel distances, focuses circulation in the communal atrium therefore creating visibility and physical proximity across the entire building to create a highly interconnected working environment.
A21architects distinct experience brings an advanced technical workflow to the project, ensuring a lean, highly coordinated design and delivery process unique to A21architects healthcare initiatives. Applying stringent low-energy principles is central to the project’s design philosophy. Drawing on A21architects expertise, the project will integrate a whole-building approach to minimize energy consumption. A Low Embodied Carbon approach is built-in from the start; retaining much of the existing building fabric to the rear, extending forwards in Cross Laminated Timber frame, using natural stone on the main façade elements. Natural light is brought in and controlled using recyclable glass and aluminium curtain walling which also provides automated, natural ventilation.
EMBRACE aims to “advance science and improve lives through bold, future-facing innovation”, with these ambitions in mind A21architects has said: “We are excited to have this opportunity to once again demonstrate that complex clinical requirements, environmental integrity and community integration can be met without compromising on aesthetic ambition”
As King’s College London and the NHS embark on this unprecedented study to redefine maternal, family and child health, this design ensures that the built environment will actively elevate the next generation of healthcare innovation.