Pears Building Institute

Brick Manufacturer: HG Matthews

Architect: SCABAL Studio Cullinan And Buck Architects Ltd with artist Sarah Staton

Brickwork Contractor: Sutton Construction

Brick Manufacturer: Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC

Architect: Hopkins Architects

Brickwork Contractor: DB Ryder

The Pears Building is a centre of research excellence for a joint partnership between the Royal Free Charity, University College London and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, and comprises the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Centre for Reconstructive Surgery and Regenerative Medicine, offices for the Royal Free Charity, a Patient Hotel and parking.

Truly world-class, as the only such research and education facility outside the USA and one of only five in the world, the facility provides the environment and resources for 200 researchers to move quickly between different research stages: basic science, the pre-clinical and clinical stages and first in-human treatment, focused on vaccine development, gene and cell therapy to treat immune-related conditions, and new types of transplantation including organ growth.

The Pears Building has been designed as a stand-alone facility but with excellent access and service links to the existing hospital building. Great care has been taken to provide a distinctive and high-quality building, with healthy working environments and world class facilities to attract and retain the brightest and the best. The brief provided a welcome opportunity to reconfigure the relationship between buildings on site, with a new frontage to Hampstead Green, site-wide improvement to access and connectivity, rationalised circulation, and significantly enhanced landscaping and public realm.