News + Ideas

MGAC was founded on a simple promise: to take the most interesting, ambitious project ideas and make them a reality. Getting there is a matter of countless small steps, conversations, and carefully-calibrated decisions, taking place between day one and that long-awaited delivery day. These are the moments that make a project. With our Behind the Build series, we take a closer look at the roads that lead to a final product, delving into the ways our talented, passionate team makes a project possible. Today, we revisit our work on the London Borough of Hackney / National Health Service (NHS), The Portico.

The London Borough of Hackney’s stately Portico building has lived many lives in its nearly 200 years. Across that time, each occupant has followed a common thread: in one shape or form, operating in service of public good. Its latest occupant, the Lower Clapton General Practice, keeps the longstanding tradition intact, transforming the previously unused Grade II landmark site into a state-of-the-art healthcare centre.

The project accommodates pressing expansion needs—serving over 15,000 patients, the practice has faced space constraints for more than two decades—while equipping the medical team with a space that supports the evolving and essential role of general practitioners today. In doing so, it brings health services to the heart of Hackney and restores The Portico’s long-standing identity as a cornerstone of the community.

Due to the structure’s age, this effort required extensive restoration, modernisation, and extension efforts, and all work had to be carried out in accordance with stringent preservation standards. In 2020, the London Borough of Hackney enlisted MGAC’s project management expertise to lead the scheme, partnering with the NHS and Lower Clapton General Practice. MGAC led the procurement of a passionate project team that included ADP Architecture and Neilcott Construction Limited.

A MODERN VISION FOR A HISTORIC SITE

The Portico’s foundation stone was laid in 1823 for what would become the London Orphan Asylum. From the very beginning, the building was intended to inspire onlookers and tenants alike, its noble appearance determined by an architectural competition. Two centuries later, the structure is still lovingly named for its distinctive colonnade in stone and lime render. The orphanage housed and schooled hundreds of youths between 1825 and 1867. By 1882, the building was sold to the newly formed Salvation Army to use as training barracks for cadets, with space for classrooms, workrooms, and bedrooms. Then, for a short time, the Portico returned to its original role of providing asylum to children when, in 1937, 400 Basque refugee children from the Spanish Civil War were accommodated within its walls. The Salvation Army resumed use until 1970.

Next, the London Borough of Hackney purchased the building and, in 1975, began converting the site into an education hub, demolishing the majority of the building and leaving only the Portico itself and colonnade wings before expanding the footprint with new buildings in subsequent years. But by 2019, this historic building had largely been unused for decades and was at risk of falling into disrepair.

The London Borough of Hackney saw an opportunity to bring new purpose to an important piece of Hackney’s history while simultaneously addressing pressing healthcare needs in the neighbourhood, by partnering with the NHS to lead this development. Before we could establish a plan for the Lower Clapton General Practice’s execution, we had to answer a central question: could we deliver a modern facility while still respecting the heritage of the building? We worked in close consultation with ADP Architecture heritage experts and the local heritage officer to explore a range of options before developing a brief to answer that critical question and outline the team’s path forward.

PLAN, ENGAGE, PIVOT, REPEAT

Two centuries of use can leave a building with a few secrets. Recognising this project’s potential for unknowns, a full survey of the building was needed to uncover as much as possible, factoring findings into early planning and budget. However, there were still site elements that we couldn’t fully investigate until work commenced: namely, an original wall hidden beneath a grassy bank studded with trees. The team carefully exposed the wall, assessing its condition, before creating a new sunken garden not far from historic vaults on the structure’s lower level, intentionally exposed to invite a glimpse into the building’s storied past and showcase heritage elements previously lost to time. Today, in the lower level’s waiting room, the vaults are retained and exposed behind glass doors and can be illuminated with the press of a button – quickly becoming a favorite form of entertainment for young children and history lovers alike.

In many ways, the shape of the final project plans was defined by tactful negotiations between its many stakeholders with distinct priorities, stacking stringent budget parameters against ambitious preservation plans and cutting-edge care goals of the clinicians, for whom this would be their new ‘work’ home. For example, no sooner had ADP Architecture envisioned a new entrance to the building within the new extension block, the heritage officer insisted that the Portico’s historic entrance be celebrated as the practice’s primary. However, the vision was not without its issues, most significantly that it was inconveniently located to surgeries and failed to accommodate patients with disabilities. So, it was back to the drawing board for the project team. With the addition of a ramp that winds through a verdant sunken garden as well as a second reception area, the team reimagined the entrance flow and updated plans to ensure the new Portico entry would be both accessible and convenient for all users.

Involving the very people who would be the clinic’s end users – doctors and clinicians, administrative staff, and patients across the greater community – was paramount from day one. Working in conjunction with the London Borough of Hackney communications team, we coordinated an exercise to proactively inform local residents about the project’s process and broader context. Additionally, the doctors and staff who would keep the clinic running each and every day were closely engaged to ensure everything from the overall layout to the functionality of spaces suited their practice.

PARTNERSHIP IN PRACTICE

The Lower Clapton General Practice opened in August of this year with 18 consulting rooms, 6 treatment rooms, 1 minor procedures room, as well as areas for administrative, staff, and patient accommodation and reception. The new consulting and treatment spaces offer high-quality primary, community, and social care services. In the upstairs reception space, a display has been installed to share the building’s story across time, from its original use as an orphanage through the Salvation Army’s stint and beyond.

Altogether, the project is a picture of holistic care fit for the modern landscape, housed in a bespoke building. It is an inspired outcome that, perhaps most significantly, was made possible via a unique partnership that brought together a passionate local council, the National Health Service, and a dynamic project team, all inspired by a shared vision of returning purpose to a beloved Hackney landmark.