Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is seeking expressions of interest for the re-cladding of a 13-storey tower building on the St Thomas' Hospital site in central London. The East Wing building has a significant urban presence on the London skyline, being situated on the south side of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The competition seeks a re-cladding design of exemplary quality befitting its location, that will at the same time provide a long-term solution to improved weatherproofing and energy efficiency. The Trust has aspirations that the re-cladding scheme should be of the highest architectural quality hence the decision to proceed down the RIBA competition route. A challenge to design teams will be to achieve a solution that can be delivered with the minimum of disruption and interference to the existing building, without the need for decanting. The internal refurbishment of the building will be carried out separately, at a later date.

The Trust wishes to ensure that the full design team is committed to both the design and delivery of the re-cladding scheme and the competition therefore seeks expressions of interest from contractor/architect teams with the capacity and imagination to deliver the project. The successful consortia will need to strike a balance that considers cost, long term value and architecture, to generate an outstanding vision that will symbolically enhance the Trust’s reputation for healthcare provision and its landmark status in London.