ISG appointed on first phase of £300m scheme to build a neurology centre for UCL

ISG Engineering Services’ specialist science and health team has been appointed as main contractor on the first phase of a £300 million scheme to build a world-leading neurology centre in the middle of London for University College London (UCL).

The prestigious research facility will serve as a hub for the UK Dementia Research Institute and a new home for the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, once completed in 2023.

The project team is led by the consultancy firm, Arcadis, which will provide project management, cost management and specialist support services. 

ISG will lead the pre-construction works package that will cost approximately £110 million over the next four years.

The existing design team has also been novated to ISG, which will be led by the architectural firm, Hawkins/Brown, and includes the engineering consultancies, Hoare Lea and Ramboll.

The scheme will be built on Gray’s Inn Road at the site of the Eastman Dental Hospital; previously home to UCL’s dentistry school and part of a £8.5m two-stage design and build contract led by ISG to relocate the dentistry in a new world-leading home – the Rockefeller Building.

Bringing together 500 clinicians and researchers from different disciplines, the new neurology hub will tackle global challenges for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and vascular dementia.

Kevin Argent, deputy director of UCL Estates & director of Estates Development, said: “We are pleased to have appointed ISG to work with us to deliver a very special building that sits within our Estates Transformation programme, creating a new research and clinical environment for neurological diseases, where patients, clinicians and academics can come together in a state of the art, collaborative, combined facility for the first time.”

Lee Hutchinson, managing director for ISG’s Science and Health business, said:

“We are delighted to have been chosen as the main contractor to design and build UCL’s new world-class facility for neurological research, allowing us to showcase our specialist expertise in this sector. 

“At ISG we thrive on fostering innovation and collaboration, and we encourage our people to think differently and deliver smarter environments. 

“We’re proud to be working with UCL again to deliver a science and healthcare facility of exceptional quality. 

“A vital space will be created for scientists, researchers and clinicians of this world-renowned institute, to discover new ways to diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent one of the greatest health challenges of our time.” 

Works are due to begin in early 2020, with completion scheduled for late 2023 in readiness for a process of migration and occupation in 2024. 

The scheme is part of a decade-long initiative called ‘Transforming UCL’, which will see the university spend £1.25 billion upgrading its estate to support the university’s continuing growth.

Photo credit: Hawkins\Brown Architects