Guys Approaches designed by Heatherwick Studio is part of the Guy's Hospital in London.

Issues

Occupying a central London site next to London Bridge Station, the approaches to Guy's Hospital were confused and congested resulting in the main entrance being hard to find. A range of problems were identified: Great Maze Pond Road being used as a cut-through for cars; narrow pavements with high volumes of pedestrians; no designated drop-offs for patients or visitors; no secure cycle storage; the unsightly boiler house adjacent to the main entrance suffering from decay; the charity shop for the Friends of Guy's in a state of poor repair.

The scheme, commissioned in 2005 and completed in 2007, captured a scope of works to address these issues for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff. Much of the scheme consists of functional, pragmatic moves, which create space for a focal point, in this instance provided by Boiler Suit - a bespoke tiled cladding system wrapping around the boiler house.

Design

Boiler Suit is fabricated from high grade stainless steel frames, with braid woven through as the "warp". The 108 tiles are geometrically identical, with 17 variants required to accommodate specific junctions. The tiles are a secondary facade system that is demountable and allows the machinery to vent through, whilst framed reveals shade the large windows on the south facade to reduce solar gain.

In 2007, the project won the Building Better Healthcare Award for Public Space, and the FX Magazine, Judge's Special Award.