Research into children’s health is an ever-progressing field of study within the life sciences, and the right kind of facilities can help accelerate this research. In this post as part of a series exploring the portfolio of work undertaken by Hassell in the life sciences, we take a look at a number of projects that we have worked on specifically as part of children’s health research.
Centre for Children’s Health Research, Brisbane, Australia
"This building makes it a joy to come to work... it has inspired me to come up with some of the best research ideas in my career to date"
Dr Zephanie Tyack (University of Queensland), Research Fellow, Children’s Burns and Trauma Research
The multiple award-winning Centre for Children’s Health Research provides a stimulating workplace to inspire and motivate university and hospital research teams tackling the big challenges in children’s health. Richly detailed two storey interaction hubs draw researchers into the shared social domain to encourage movement between levels and collaboration between teams.
Designed to provide a best practice academic and research facility based on the generic laboratory concept for flexibility and adaptability, the facility concentrates paediatric research talent under one roof combining the knowledge of Queensland University of Technology, The University of Queensland and Children’s Health Services. The facility houses more than 400 researchers, 7,700 sqm of wet and dry laboratories, pathology services, university tenancies, retail space and car parking.
The flexible floor plate strategy has successfully accommodated varying research tenancy configurations, whether it be microbiology laboratories, clinical research or administrative teams managing clinical trials while maintaining consistent clarity of circulation and detailing.
Design features:
— The dynamic atrium stair interconnects vertically stacked interaction hubs while sleeving into flexible floor plates to provide visual connectivity between the team workplaces and communal interaction spaces
— Ground level tenancies and shared seating provides retail and social amenity to the hospital precinct
— A perforated patterned veil of sunshade mediates the harsh east and west orientation sun to wash internal spaces with filigree light while maximising outlook and natural light deep into the plan
Over half the floor space dedicated to labs
With research the core mandate of the Centre, it makes sense that over 50 percent of the building is dedicated to laboratories. Featuring both wet and dry lab facilities with a PC2 rating where necessary - or the inbuilt potential to meet PC3 at a future date - CCHR delivers best practice facilities to support the various research groups. Specialist facilities include a motion lab with an indoor running track, domestic activity rooms, nutrition labs, pathology, microbiology, and observation labs.
Remembering the human element
Many of the visitors to CCHR are parents and family members of sick children who often spend hours at the Centre. Understanding that they also have needs, the ground floor was designed as a retail and social space offering food and welcome respite, while accommodation capacity has been increased by refurbishing and extending an existing building within the hospital precinct.
Client: Centre for Children’s Health Research, Queensland Health
Year: 2015
Scale: 14,900 sqm
Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones
Children’s Medical Research Institute Stage 2 Redevelopment, Westmead, Australia
“Our aim is to encourage, enhance and facilitate direct collaboration between research groups both within the CMRI, Kids Research and its HUB partners with real and tangible connections to the Children’s Hospital Westmead Stage 2 Redevelopment.”
Roger Reddel, Director CMRI
Hassell was selected by the Children’s Medical Research Institute to develop a new 20,000 sqm research facility at the Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct. The brief is to provide the Institute with flexible research space that will accommodate 10 years of growth, so an integral part of our commission has been developing a joint master plan with adjoining external stakeholders who are also developing the next stage of a new Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
This has involved consulting with both Health Infrastructure New South Wales and management consulting firm PWC, as well as the Chief Executive of the Children’s Hospital. Through a holistic design response, we propose to create a genuine place of integrated multidisciplinary and collaborative research: one that creates a cutting edge, agile and transformational research facility, facilitating its innovative people to accelerate discovery and creating a high-performance home for its state-of-the-art equipment.
Together with our client, we aim to create a unique, globally recognised facility, synonymous with world class research, quality, collaboration, knowledge transfer and excellence for its varying stakeholders.
Highlights:
— Vibrant public domain that enables ‘live, work, play’
— Planned staging for the future, including co-location and adaptability
Client: Children’s Medical Research Institute
Location: Westmead, Australia
Year: Anticipated completion 2023
Scale: 20,000 sqm
Read more about our insights on designing life science buildings and precincts.
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