ISG wins £50 million Sutton cancer treatment and research centre

ISG has been awarded a circa £50 million project to build The Oak Cancer Centre at The Royal Marsden in London. This striking new building, at the gateway to the world-renowned cancer hospital and research centre’s Sutton site, will provide new outpatient facilities, medical day-care and collaboration space for clinical researchers to accelerate cancer diagnosis and treatment for patients.

Named in recognition of Oak Foundation, which has donated £25 million to the cost of this new centre of excellence, The Oak Cancer Centre will bring together over 400 researchers from across The Royal Marsden’s Sutton and Chelsea sites, in a building designed to stimulate collaboration and speed up the development of new cancer treatments.  
 
The new six-storey, 134,000 sq ft concrete frame building is targeting a BREEAM Excellent environmental performance rating and will become the centrepiece of an ambitious plan, alongside academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research, to create a £1 billion cancer research campus – The London Cancer Hub, in Sutton. 
 
Designed to bring patients and researchers closer together to drive innovation in treatments and outcomes, floor layouts and the high specification materials used throughout the building have been carefully selected with the patient experience at the heart of the process. At ground floor level a large full height atrium floods the reception heart space of The Oak Cancer Centre with natural light. A saw tooth roof design allows light to enter the building, whilst providing space for a large photovoltaic array to generate emission free electricity.   

Constructed on a sloping brownfield site, patient areas extend across the lower ground floor through to level two, with the two upper floors providing space for The Royal Marsden’s dedicated team of cancer researchers. Facilities include a Rapid Diagnostic Centre and a new Medical Day Unit designed to provide the optimum environment for patients to receive chemotherapy treatment. Open treatment bay areas at level two are a response to patient and clinician feedback on designs to optimise treatment experiences.
 
The building has been designed with adaptability at its core, using large open plan floorplates and reconfigurable spaces to future proof accommodation as new treatments and patient care evolves. The striking design of the building features extensive curtain walling and brise soleil solar shading elements to its façade, with the project scheduled for completion in summer 2022. 
 
Lee Hutchinson, managing director for ISG’s Science and Health business, commented: “Creating leading-edge healthcare facilities that enable clinicians and researchers to improve patient outcomes is a direct way that the construction industry can make a positive societal impact with a multi-generational legacy. 
 
“The unprecedented nature of this current global health crisis has acutely focused attention on a sector that we all rely upon, and one so intrinsically linked to the physical infrastructure that supports patient outcomes and the research and development that is transformative to our lives. This is a project of major significance for our business, with every member of the delivery team fully focused on creating a world-leading hub for treatment and research into cures for cancer.”