University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust signed the £190m contract with Bouygues UK in July.
The new treatment centre will be one of the first facilities of its kind in the country, using high energy proton beam therapy. Interserve is building a similar facility at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
Proton beam therapy is a highly targeted form of radiotherapy that is able to treat local cancers in hard-to-reach areas, potentially reducing damage to nearby tissue and other side effects.
The new building, developed with funding from UCLH and the Department of Health, has been designed by architect Scott Tallon Walker in association with Edward Williams Architects. It will be built close to UCLH’s Cancer Centre and radiotherapy services, creating a hub for cancer treatment in central London.
The proton beam therapy facility will be built underground, and there will be five additional floors above ground offering care and treatment of blood cancer and short stay surgery.
Bouygues Travaux Publics will contribute its expertise for the underground element of the project, which involves excavation of 25 metres as well as the underground installation of the proton beam therapy equipment, weighing around 120 tonnes.
The centre is expected to begin treating patients in 2019. The project is expected to achieve the “BIM Exemplar” label, attesting to its exemplary use of building information modelling, and will also be targeting BREEAM Excelent certification.
UCLH chief executive Sir Robert Naylor said: “I am delighted that the contract to build this major new NHS facility has now been awarded. It will make a significant difference to the lives of hundreds of NHS patients every year and help us to advance our research into precision medicine.”
Bouygues UK chairman and CEO Madani Sow said: “This latest contract highlights our enviable reputation for building first-class healthcare facilities across the capital. We are proud to be working with UCLH on the delivery of what will be part of a vital new, national service for NHS patients here in the UK.”
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