SPPARC has revealed plans to renovate the former Ravenscourt Park Hospital in Hammersmith, a Grade II listed building that has stood vacant for two decades and sits on Historic England's Heritage at Risk register. The building opened in 1933 as the Royal Masonic Hospital, designed by Thomas S. Tait, and later operated until 1994, briefly reopened under the NHS in 2002, and closed in 2004. Developer TT Group acquired the 3.87-acre site in 2022. Plans propose repurposing the landmark into 140 homes, a 65-bed care home, and bookable public spaces, retaining the hospital's Art Deco character and red-brick façades. Proposed homes range from one-bedroom apartments to large family units and include amenity spaces such as workspaces, lounges, and private gardens.
The building, originally named the Royal Masonic Hospital and designed by Thomas S. Tait, is regarded as one of the first major modern buildings in the UK and was Europe's largest independent acute hospital when it was opened by King George V in 1933. Built to provide low-cost treatment for Freemasons and their families, the 260-bed facility operated until 1994, reopened as an NHS hospital in 2002, and was permanently closed in 2004.
The building was originally conceived in an Art Deco style with minimal ornamentation and flat roofs. The project earned RIBA's 1933 Gold Medal award for Building of the Year. According to the architects, the hospital's characteristic red-brick block façade would be brought back into use in a scheme that seeks to celebrate the site's distinctive style. The hospital also forms part of British popular culture, having appeared in film and television productions including Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989 and 1991), The Queen (2006).
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