Liverpool’s new Mayor Joanne Anderson and the City Region’s Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram will join RCP president Andrew Goddard at the opening today of one of the world’s healthiest buildings – The Spine.
The Mayors will be greeted by RCP president Andrew Goddard to celebrate the opening of the RCP’s new northern home within the building - RCP at The Spine. Its first significant presence outside of London, RCP at The Spine will provide events, activities and services closer to its northern members. The RCP has fitted out seven floors to accommodate exams, education facilities, conferences and meetings at a world-class standard, and a public café, exhibition space and networking areas open to the public. Many of the rooms are available for hire for conferences and events as is the fine dining space on the 13th floor which has unrivalled views of Liverpool.
RCP president Andrew Goddard said:
‘RCP at The Spine will deliver what our members tells us they want the most – for the RCP to be educating, improving and influencing – with our state-of-the-art assessment centre and educational facilities. It will allow us to have a base for our health improvement work as we continue to set high standards in educating physicians to provide the best care for patients in the UK and across the world. Our major investment in RCP at The Spine shows that we want to get closer to our members in the north and demonstrates that we’re all about health and healthcare right across the UK today.
The Spine, based in Paddington Village, has been designed according to the scientific and medical research principles established in the international WELL Standard to achieve WELL Platinum. It is on track to be one of the healthiest workspaces for mental health and physical wellbeing in the UK.
Costing £35m to construct, it is the first Grade-A office building in the Liverpool City Region for more than a decade. It will also be the highest in the city, sitting proudly at the eastern gateway to the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) Innovation District.
The 160,000 square foot, 14-storey building, designed by architecture and building consultancy practice AHR and built by City Council appointed contractors and construction partners Morgan Sindall Construction, stands more than 500ft above sea level, commanding spectacular views across the city and as far as Snowdonia and the Pennines.
The Spine’s unique layout and design also uses biophilic design principles, with strong connections to nature established throughout the building. The distinctive façade takes inspiration from the human skin, with the striking Voronoi pattern including 23 million individual polygons applied in a frit pattern to the glazing.
The Spine’s eco-credentials are also boosted by three double-height spaces on the ground, 10th and 12th floors, with planters containing high-oxygen-producing plants to improve the internal environment, a large number of cycle spaces and electric car charging points installed at the nearby car park.
A dedicated exhibition space on the first floor will connect via a staircase to a ground floor café and foyer, while the higher floors, which are circa 11,550 square feet, will enjoy some of the best views of the city thanks to floor-to-ceiling glazing throughout. The building will be heated by a low-carbon heating exchange based within the ground floor of brand new 14-storey car park, which is due to open in July this year.
As well as the RCP, which has taken seven floors within The Spine, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has taken a floor, with the City Council in negotiations to complete the occupancy of the building.
When complete, Paddington Village, which received £12m from Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority towards a £20m infrastructure programme, will feature several other buildings, some of which are already occupied. The University of Liverpool’s International College and The Rutherford Cancer Centre NW, opened in 2020 and a new hotel by Novotel will follow in April 2022.