Microbiology Building, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, Co. Antrim, BT12 6BA

Microbiology Building, Grosvenor Road, Belfast

This six-storey building with basement is a modern International style structure with Brutalist influences, designed by Sir Hugh Casson of the London firm Casson & Condor and constructed between 1961 and 1964. It forms part of the Royal Victoria Hospital complex, positioned south of the Grosvenor Road access route and northwest of Mulhouse Road.

The building comprises a main rectangular block orientated east-west, set above a significantly larger, irregularly planned lower ground floor level. The lower ground floor extends with a rectangular projecting section to the northwest, a bastion-shaped canted section to the northeast, and a rectangular return to the southeast. The walls of the lower ground floor feature battered concrete shuttering topped by a simple circular section horizontal railing.

Access to the building is primarily via covered flat-roofed walkways to the north at both ground and lower ground floor levels, supported by square-section pillars. The main building has a flat roof set below a parapet to the north and east, with a large raised rectangular chimney vent to both the east and west. A raised plant room sits at the centre of the roof, itself flat-roofed with metal chimneys. Rainwater goods are concealed within the walling. The lower ground floor roof is flat, finished with concrete paving slabs and providing a walkway around the main building. At the southeast arm of the lower ground floor, two remaining rectangular sections of glass blocks form roof lights, four blocks in width and six in length.

The ground floor level of the main building block is constructed from sections of glazed curtain walling to the north and south with continuous horizontal bands of high-level glazing. Intermittent sections of Flemish bond brown brickwork pierce these glazed areas, with rectangular square-headed windows featuring thin green slate cills. The upper storeys utilise distinctive prefabricated modular concrete sections with continuous horizontal bands of single-glazed three-pane steel windows, separated by concrete panels. Narrow wrap-around horizontal band windows appear at the facade edges at each level.

The north elevation features glazed steel-framed curtain walling at ground floor level with two glazed entrance doors flanked by perpendicular projecting glazed panels. Lower sections of glazing flanking the main door have frosted glass. The lower level of the covered walkway has two timber doors leading to two now blocked-up doorways in the below-ground-level boundary walling to the north. A thin horizontal band of windows to the lower ground floor walling is now blocked.

The east elevation contains a thin splayed full-height arrow-loop type window opening at the centre of ground floor level, with a recessed steel-framed light flanked by a window to the north and a glazed two-pane metal-framed door to the south. Concrete panels and narrow wrap-around horizontal band windows continue to the upper floors. A planked timber door to the centre of the lower ground floor sits in a recessed section, with some steel-framed windows remaining unblocked to the southeast. The end elevation of concrete stairs to the south elevation is finished with concrete panels and painted metal horizontal handrail and balustrade.

The south elevation is largely similar to the north elevation, except the central four bays which have only narrow horizontal windows at ceiling level of each floor, intersected by thin vertical windows at each floor level. An external concrete staircase to the southeast, supported by a central rectangular-section concrete column connecting all floors and roof, is fitted with a painted metal handrail of circular section. Three sliding timber two-pane glazed doors to the lower ground floor are housed in a recess formed by cantilever construction of the extending lower ground floor flat roof.

The west elevation is similar to the east elevation with a thin splayed full-height arrow-loop type window at the centre of ground floor, flanked by a window to the north and a door to the south. Concrete panels and narrow wrap-around horizontal banded windows continue at the edge of each floor. A large metal vent rises externally from the first floor window level to the roof. The lower ground floor has a sheet metal door and thin horizontal steel-framed rectangular windows, with vertical concrete shuttering below the windows and smooth finish above.

The building is situated within the Royal Victoria Hospital complex, with the principal entrance to the main building approached from the public footpath to the north via a covered walkway at both ground and lower ground floor levels. Concrete shuttering forms a retaining boundary to the north, northwest and east. A local access road borders the building to the west where ground falls away to the rear, with a large tarmaced car park to the south. The area between the public footpath and the irregular plan of the lower ground floor is set to lawn with some established trees.