Umbria, Italy
Tokyo, Japan
Auckland, New Zealand
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi
Melbourne, Australia
London, United Kingdom
Brooklyn, New York
Shenzhen, China
Sydney, Australia
Major Urban Research Building Repositions Adelaide as a Health and Medical Research Center
Located alongside the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, this project reinforces South Australia as a major center for medical research. The state-of-the-art facility accommodates approximately 700 researchers from around the world while the iconic architecture is meant to symbolize, inspire and promote the building’s function.
A uniquely shaped site and the need to create an entry adjacent to the hospital led to an elevated diamond-shaped plan that allows the parklands to extend below. The lifted building and integrated landscape act to liberate the ground plane, inviting greater activation and porosity throughout the site. Developed out of the basic program of the floor plates, the sculpted envelope reflects the functional symmetry of the space. A transparent façade showcases the two atriums within the building: the west atrium expresses the entry and bridge links between the laboratories and the east one articulates the active workplace environment.
Talk to Georgia Singleton about Education and Science
The building’s form is accentuated by the triangulated diagrid façade that functions environmentally as well as aesthetically. Inspired by a pinecone, the skin simulates a living organism with sunshades that adapt and respond to the sun’s orientation to mitigate daylight, heat load, glare and wind noise, while enhancing views and natural lighting and reducing energy use. This external treatment was selected early on to optimize the building’s conflicting requirements of large spans, curved envelope and the stringent vibration conditions needed for sensitive laboratory equipment. To meet the various environmental, programmatic and formal stipulations for this initiative, technical experts utilized parametric modeling tools RHINO and Grasshopper.
The key driver of the building design is to foster collaboration between researchers. This is achieved by atria and bridges, visual connection between floors and the interconnecting spiral stair. The facility provides nine fully flexible wet and dry laboratory modules. Each module—comprising open lab space with benches, lab support rooms and write-up space—are connected by the lobby and bridge via the atria and arranged adjacently to encourage interaction and transparency.
This is the first LEED Gold laboratory building in Australia, attained by moves such as the passive design of the floor plates and the use of a diagrid façade, both of which optimize natural light and minimize energy use. Other sustainable initiatives include collection and recycling of water, reduction in energy loads and intelligent mechanical systems that draw air in from the cooler lower levels. Providing a resource to both the public and its users, the facility showcases sustainable urban design strategies and successfully interact with the city’s public transport, cycling and walking networks.
Commendation, Public Architecture – 2014 South Australian Architecture Awards
Winner,Jack McConnell Award for Public Architecture
Winner, Commercial Architecture
Winner, Interior Architecture
Winner, Sustainable Architecture
Winner, Steel in Architecture Colorbond
WAF Awards, Future Project, Health
Shortlist – WAN Awards, Healthcare Unbuilt
Shortlist – WAN Awards, Façade Award
Highly Commended – Design Institute of Australia
Gold, Built Environment
Winner, DIA President’s Award
Winner, Laminex Award – Interior Design Excellence Awards
Shortlist, Public Space – Design & Health International Academy Awards, Future Health Project
Finalist – MIPIM Future Project Awards 2011
Commended – Revit Technology Conference 2014, Innovation Prize (Design Technology Excellence)
Runner-up – Australian Institute of Builders
Professional excellence award, Commercial construction $100 million plus
Section showing the key principles of the project.
Technical design of the fin system.
New York, New York
Calne, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Isle of Arran, Lamlash Bay, United Kingdom