Royal Womens Hospital Melbourne
royal womens hospital, melbourne
royal women’s hospital In 2004, the Victorian Government advertised for consortia bids for the Royal Women’s Hospital project to be delivered as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The PPP provided for private sector responsibility for financing, design, construction and ongoing maintenance for the hospital for 25 years, while the public sector retained responsibility for the delivery of clinical services.
The Royal Women’s Health Partnership headed by Bilfinger Berger and comprising Baulderstone Hornibrook as the design and construction arm and United Group, as the service provider, engaged DWI Architects (Woodhead architects and DesignInc Melbourne, in association) to head up the design team. This team also included Bassetts services engineers, Bonacci Group civil and structural engineers, Rider Hunt quantity surveyors, Phillip Chun building surveyors and others The Royal Women’s health partnership delivered a $250M hospital of world standing and a model public private partnership project recognised on a global scale. An ongoing partnership spanning 25 years, it provides whole of life and design efficiencies that will continue to service the building.
As Victoria’s (and one of Australia’s) first building works PPP, the Royal Women’s has paved the way for subsequent projects to deliver valuable benefits and services to the community. Built With People In Mind A responsive, flexible and open consultation process by the development team and user groups let to over 600 functional design changes at no additional cost. The result has been the highest levels of client satisfaction, and a building relevant to its communities. Regular weekly stakeholder meetings and six monthly strategic workshops with Partners kept the project on track to handover, while ongoing smooth relations ensures it operational maintenance over 25 years. Constant consultation and thorough training with hospital staff provided for a seamless transition into the new facility and high level user satisfaction. ——
This 250 bed specialist Women’s and NeoNatal Health Service has been designed as an iconic stand alone facility with its own distinctive presence. It is designed to be efficient and non-threatening, contemporary yet fitting into its environs, innovative, sustainable and most of all planned with all women in mind. It is innovative in its approach with 100% fresh air conditioning to the inpatient wards using the energy efficient displacement method delivering wellness and minimizing cross infection. The design is flexible to meet future needs with provision for future expansion designed from the outset. Flexibility has been further provided for by locating decentralised plant rooms in the corners of each floor-plate, so that any given part of the hospital can be reconfigured in future without major disruption to surrounding areas.
The Vision From the first thoughts and ideas expressed by 1,000 women, a hospital was created, with five founding principals influencing its design. ——Community Values Respecting the need to serve women’s health from the wider community and empathise with families from all cultural backgrounds ——Patient Care Meeting care needs with privacy, respect, dignity and proper resources in a family friendly environment to bring patient support networks close. ——Service Options Providing for the needs of women at all stages of their lives with obstetrics, gynaecology and critical and general health services. ——Quality Understanding the value of providing leading expertise and advanced technology in building a responsive care model. ——Access Building ready links and access to leading support health agencies and research facilities for ongoing improvements to women’s health outcomes.
Delivery Of The Vision The architectural vision for the Royal Women’s Hospital redevelopment project was the result of a joint venture between DesignInc and Woodhead (DWI). Each company’s skills and attributes were combined into one holistic approach to the project. The successful results are clearly evident in the iconic and inventive development. The philosophical intention of the design process from the outset was to create a dedicated women’s facility that maintains its own identity without jarring the context of the neighbouring buildings. It is a place that is sensitive and respectful to the needs of its patients but also with a capacity for relaxed family interaction and healing. This not only reflects modern Melbourne and its cosmopolitan society, but also the integrated mix of a modern community the 21st century. Muslin architectural consultancy was incorporated as were the principles of Feng Shui and indigenous Koori women’s cultural needs.
Sustainability Preceding the GBC’s Hospital rating tool by 4 years, the development makes use of north-south building orientation to take advantage of the sun’s light. Exterior shading and glazing were optimised to enhance the energy efficiency of the building envelope. Natural materials and other low embodied energy materials were used. Floor plate depth maximises lighting and views from all occupied rooms. The displacement air conditioning system provides 100% clean air to the in-patient wards and minimises stale air and cross infection. Low energy lighting and advanced controls incorporated into the BMS deliver reduced energy consumption. Ninety per cent of all waste is recycled from the site and a 23,000 litre roof tank stores rainwater to clean the building’s façade. A 2,500 litre tank captures ground water to use for flushing toilets saving approximately 5,000 litres of water each day.
“The new Women’s will rank among the best in term of the latest care, the most familyfriendly facilities and a design that includes capacity to meet future increases in demand. It will lead the way in women’s health services including maternity, gynaecology, cancer and reproductive services, continuing a long-standing tradition of highquality treatment” Hon. Daniel Andrews MP, Minister for Health
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