2018 Australian Urban Design Awards announced

The Bendigo Hospital Project by Silver Thomas Hanley with Bates Smart and Oculus has won the Built Projects – City and Regional Scale in the 2018 Australian Urban Design Awards .

One of the most sustainable and technically advanced regional hospitals in Australia, it's  also home to the largest hospital green roof in Australia.

Recognised by the jury for its rethinking of the design of health facilities, it was chosen because the project went beyond convention by creating a precinct that engaged with heritage and celebrated the cultural and ecological character of the region.

The jury cited: "Careful attention has also been paid to sustainability. An integrated network of green roofs, balconies, courtyards and walkways allows both patients and visitors to benefit from a more inviting, high-quality public realm. Enhanced green spaces improve indoor comfort by reducing glare and the heat island effect. The use of solar photovoltaic and recycled water systems underpins the performance of the buildings and ensures that the precinct delivers both environmental and economic benefits to the local community. "

The new $630 million hospital, which opened early last year, is a highly nuanced, major-scale medical campus. Its wedge-shaped towers, an internal “street”, tranquil inner courtyards and green roofs, and syncopated facades of glass panels make the facility appear more like a streetscape than a monolithically daunting medical building.

 Presented at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday 25 October, the 2018 Australian Urban Design Awards were established to recognise “contemporary Australian urban design projects of the highest quality and to encourage cities, towns and communities across the country to strive for best practice in all projects.” Eleven entries were recognized across four categories, with five entries being named winners. 

The full list of recipients can be found here.

BENDIGO HOSPITAL'S SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES INCLUDE

• The hospital’s green roofs reduce glare and heat island effect while improving acoustic and thermal performance
• An extensive 200-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel array made up of 770 panels, generates clean energy power and an annual reduction in greenhouse gases of approximately 300,000 kilograms of CO2
• The hospital roof can harvest and store more than 300kL of potable and non-potable rainwater, which is particularly significant given the location in a drought-prone region
• Recycled water systems are used as the primary water supply to landscape irrigation toilet flushing and heat rejection systems

Image: Oculus. Article source: ArchitectureAU & AFR