Sir Ludwig Guttman Medical Centre
Description
The Sir Ludwig Guttman Health and Wellbeing Centre in Stratford is a landmark civic building and a key Olympic legacy project. Originally designed as the Athletes’ Polyclinic for the 2012 Games, it now delivers over 3,800 m2 of NHS primary care alongside 1,500 m2 of community facilities.
Designed by Penoyre & Prasad, the building responds to its taller residential surroundings with a strong sculptural form and refined material palette. A recessed colonnade lined with gold, silver and bronze shopfronts references its Olympic heritage, while a pure white brick façade establishes a monolithic civic presence. Sharp faceted corners and set-back glazing define a building that is both highly contextual and distinctly contemporary.
Requirements
EBM played a critical role in façade realisation, advising on product specification and brick format to meet both aesthetic and technical demands. The architects required a seamless, homogenous white brick across the building envelope – a requirement that ruled out many off-the-shelf options. EBM sourced a bespoke Roben Pearl White clinker brick from Germany, developed in a custom 190x90mm format to ensure consistent module control and visual purity.
Our team also designed and delivered a 45-degree corner return special, tailored to address the building’s angular geometry without relying on visible cuts or non-uniform joints. This specialist support included technical design consultation, product sourcing across the European market, and coordination with the contractor to ensure detailing accuracy and façade buildability.
Unlike conventional suppliers, EBM’s deep understanding of European production capabilities and custom fabrication enabled the delivery of a refined, highly tailored, façade solution that matched the project’s ambitious design intent.
Location
Key challenges
1/ Achieving a uniform white façade with no tonal variation
2/ Designing bespoke brick specials, including mitred corner units, to accommodate complex angular forms
3/ Sourcing and developing a non-standard module size from a European manufacturer
4/ Supporting tight programme delivery across an Olympic-legacy site with civic and healthcare sensitivities.
Highlights & Achievements
- — A rare example of pure white clinker brick used at civic scale in London
- — Regarded as a benchmark for adaptable civic architecture in a post-Games context
- — Celebrated for its sculptural form and material discipline within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park masterplan
Materials used
Other projects
Colville Estate
250 City Road
Cubitt House
Valentine Place
The Rye Apartments
Wellington College
Turnmill
