Reference visit to The London Institute for Health Engineering (LIHE), King’s College London

5 June 2025

Introduction
'Only a handful of life-saving innovations make it to the patient bedside due to the complexities of bringing medical technology innovations to market. By collocating all critical stakeholders in a dedicated physical space side by side to our University and Hospital, we are giving innovations the best chance of making a real impact, at pace. Because our future patients deserve it.’

By Professor Sebastien Ourselin, Head of School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences and Director of LIHE, King’s College London

The London Institute for Health Engineering (LIHE) is an ambitious ground-breaking initiative located on a challenging site in the heart of London. It is King’s College London’s flagship research and innovation facility - an innovative hub where medicine, education, engineering and enterprise are brought together to shape the future of healthcare for the benefit of patients. 

The visit was introduced by presentations from Professor Sebastien Ourselin, Director of LIHE, and from Claire Wakelin, Director – Head of Education, and Russell Whitby, Technical Director, HLM Architects who outlined the vision and design of LIHE and the success it has already achieved. 

The London Institute for Health Engineering (LIHE) 
The construction of the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) at the St Thomas’ Campus, on the site of a former single storey teaching building constructed in 1978, was completed in late 2023 and occupied in early 2024. The University Design Forum carried out a Design Review for LIHE in 2021.

LIHE is a building focused on partnerships and collaboration. An essential component of the vision for the developing St Thomas’ MedTech Hub, LIHE aims to bring together King’s research, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical practice, plus that of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and the MedTech sector’s commercial innovation and investment power from start-ups to multi-national companies. The building is at the heart of a centre for Med-Tech innovation which includes research activities taking place in the adjacent hospital, reinforcing the importance of this location.

The close collaboration aims to ensure that research in healthcare engineering is translated rapidly into new products and technologies that will benefit patients. Professor Ourselin described medical research as having three phases – ‘Bench – Bedside - Boardroom’; the UK is good at the first two phases but is behind other countries in terms of the third phase and translating this research into commercial success. LIHE aims to change that, here in the centre of London. 

Key aspects of the building design
The project kicked off in July 2018 with a 12-week visioning exercise, from which the building developed. External funding determined a face pace for the design and construction, including through the pandemic lockdowns. The building was achieved by funding from a number of partners including Wellcome, Siemens Healthineers, Medtronic, NVIDIA, IBM and King’s College London, supported by a grant from UKRPIF. 

Situated on the bank of the River Thames, the site is a challenging one in terms of urban planning, with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital immediately to the north, Lambeth Palace to the east and the River Thames with the Houses of Parliament to the west. 

The building design successfully responds to the architecture of the adjacent Grade I and II listed heritage buildings, issues of views across the site and logistic and security issues, while creating a contemporary, sustainable building of high quality. The ground floor houses lecture spaces, café and reception, while the 1^st and 2^nd floors provided flexible spaces – ‘we-work for innovators’, some open; some enclosed, with partitions which can be changed and moved in 24 hours. The top floor includes a boardroom, space for events and receptions and stunning views across to the Houses of Parliament. A key aim of the building is ‘collaboration’, both inside and externally with partners. Flexibility has been a key consideration, with light flowing throughout the building and great use made of the unique views out. The glass staircase and adjacent sitting areas is a key architectural and collaborative feature on which innovators will have accidental and creative conversations.

The future
To the south of the site is the original 19^th century Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, a listed building that follows the architectural style of the hospital buildings, dropping down towards Lambeth Bridge. It has been vacant for some years; various schemes have been proposed, but none have proved viable for one reason or another. LIHE is looking at the challenge of redeveloping/refurbishing the building, potentially linking the two buildings together, to provide further space for its innovative collaborations as the existing building becomes full and start-ups grow in numbers, thus enabling them to remain in this location. It would be a tremendous achievement if this was to happen, creating such a major MedTech base for the UK, linked to the resources of King’s College London and the NHS Trusts.

The University Design Forum extends its thanks to the host and sponsors, LIHE, King’s College London, HLM Architects, Morgan Sindall Construction and the speakers and those who contributed to the visit.

Written by and images credited to Ian Caldwell and Simon Fraser.