The contractor with architect Hopkins won the RIBA-run design competition to transform the 13-storey hospital building on the south side of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The pair beat off a strong field of rival bidders including Laing O’Rourke, Bam and Galliford Try to take the the external recladding works package expected to cost around £21m.

But due to Budget cuts the start of the project has been pushed back by a year.

The job forms part of a multi million exterior overhaul of Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospital. Detailed plans to reclad the 34-storey Guy’s hospital tower located by the river near the Shard construction site at London Bridge were also unveiled this week.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust appointed Arup and Penoyre & Prasad to make recommendations on refurbishing the facades of the Guy’s tower to stop concrete deterioration, replace the failing windows, and improve the building’s carbon footprint.

The complex overhaul of the exterior and glazing will improve the tower’s energy efficiency and give the 36-year-old concrete building a face lift so it sits more easily alongside the imposing Shard building, presently under construction nest to the hospital at London Bridge.

The hospital trust hopes to gain planning permission next spring, with the work completed by autumn 2013.

The towering hospital building is divided into two main sections, one housing the main wards and offices and the other services and stairwells.

The architects has proposed a new aluminium cladding for the services tower section while the main tower concrete balconies will be cleaned and new glazing fitted.