Projects

Royal Salop Infirmary

The conversion of the Royal Salop Infirmary into a mixed-use development comprising residential and commercial units was a major town centre regeneration scheme. The hospital building had been much altered and extended since its conception and, due to a thick layer of black pollutants covering its facades and numerous ad-hoc extensions, it no longer resembled the original Georgian building. Internally, a ramshackle arrangement had resulted from trying to adapt an early nineteenth-century building to suit twentieth-century hospital practice.

Arrol Architects saw that it was possible to reinstate the building within the historic townscape, and that this would be the desired option rather than demolishing it in order to build new on the site (a particular trend at the time in the town). The building was reduced to its original height, restoring a coherence of design to the facade. Inside, the upper storeys were converted into desirable flats while the ground floor and basement levels were converted into retail units. Thirty years later, The Hospital is still a popular shopping destination and the flats remain a sought after address.