Knowledge Quarter Liverpool: Details revealed for £35m RCP headquarters and hotel

Fresh details of the Royal College of Physicians’ (RCP) new multi-million pound base in Liverpool have been revealed this week.

The £35m facility, which will serve as the Northern headquarters of the RCP, will be known as The Spine.

Spanning 160,000 sq ft, the complex will feature a staircase on its north elevation that resembles human vertebrae along with an internal sky garden, restaurant, bicycle storage space, showers and underground parking.

A CGI of The Spine’s reception area

The bottom three and top four storeys of The Spine will be used as a 70,000 sq ft centre of clinical excellence for the RCP, but the remaining seven will serve as flexible workspaces designed for businesses in the health, science and education sectors.

It will sit within the city’s the £1bn Paddington Village development, part of the Knowledge Quarter project.

London-headquartered construction services firm Morgan Sindall is working in partnership with Liverpool City Council to deliver Paddington Village. Phase one is currently underway.

The Spine, designed by AHR Architects and Arup, will be delivered in phase two and open its doors in 2020.

An external view of RCP’s new £35m HQ building

RCP president Prof. Jane Dacre said: “The development of our new Liverpool home is really beginning to gather pace and the confirmation of its name feels like another important step forward.

“The building will bring high quality research, medical training, examination and conference facilities to the city, marking a crucial milestone in our objective to work more closely with our regional members.”

She added: “Central to the design brief was a sense that the new building must embody our commitment to wellbeing, benefitting both our team and our neighbours, and the WELL standard is the definitive measure of success in that area.”

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: “KQ Liverpool is at the vanguard of the city’s economic growth potential and the arrival of RCP North brings added momentum to our plans to create a world-class innovation district.

“The Spine is an apt name, not only due to its medical connotations, but also because this development forms the central backbone of our long-term plans for the Paddington Village scheme.”

He continued: “It’s also highly encouraging that The Spine will pursue world-class standards of build and design, hopefully raising the bar for sustainable future development in Liverpool and creating an excellent working environment for the RCP and other new occupiers in the building.”

Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool, commented: “The Spine is another crucial step forward in our determination to attract the very best organisations and talent from around the globe, as well as creating thousands of jobs for the people of Liverpool.

“It’s a great example of the Mayor’s vision combining successfully in a powerful partnership with the city’s universities and hospitals, as well as new partners such as Morgan Sindall and the RCP.”

KQ Liverpool represents a collaboration between the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital Trust and Liverpool City Council.

Elsewhere, Liverpool City Council has chosen Ryder Architects to design a new 250-bed hotel and serviced apartment scheme at Paddington Village.

The authority said it has shortlisted Accor, Hilton and IHG as potential operators of the building, which would be located at the gateway to the village.

The final team for the hotel is due to be announced late Summer 2018.

How the hotel could look

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