The Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania has been transformed into a state-of-the-art trauma, teaching and referral facility following the completion of the largest redevelopment in its 207-year history. Opening its doors to patients in April 2020, this landmark project includes approximately 37,000 square meters of new construction and approximately 4,000 square meters of refurbished spaces in surrounding buildings, all to meet the projected health service needs of the Tasmanian community. Spanning 11 stories, the hospital accommodates a new main entry, foyer, café, interventional suites, hyperbaric chamber, five levels of new inpatient wards, two levels of mental health wards, sterilization department, a helipad, as well as interconnections to three surrounding buildings. The redevelopment has enabled an expansion of services to departments including women, adolescent and children’s, as well as diagnostic and interventional facilities and the endoscopy unit. The project also included the construction of a temporary mental health modular/prefabricated facility located above the hospital forecourt and emergency department, as well as permanent high-dependency mental health in-patient wards.
The stunning façade of the building was developed to maximize natural light permeation into all bedrooms and to enhance health outcomes, while reducing solar impact and energy usage by more than 10 percent when compared with similar developments. A further key achievement from the project involved the integration of a low-energy, central thermal plant in the basement level to serve Block K, the existing site, as well as future stages to reduce operational costs and carbon emissions. This involved tunneling under existing buildings to run major infrastructure reticulation throughout the site. Our design also implemented use of 100 percent outside air — with no recirculation of internal air — to maximize infection control. This was coupled with heat recovery to minimize energy use. The forethought of our design supported the operation of the hospital during the coronavirus pandemic and provided a suitable environment to minimize the risk of infection for patients and staff.
Working in collaboration with Tasmania’s Department of Health and Human Service, Lyons Architects, and the contractor John Holland and Fairbrother joint venture, we provided multidisciplinary engineering and consulting services including mechanical, electrical, fire, hydraulics, structural, civil and façade engineering, as well as environmentally sustainable design and vibration and acoustic consulting over a 10-year project life.
Client
Department of Health and Human Service Tasmania.
Services
- Multidisciplinary engineering and consulting services including mechanical
- Electrical
- Fire
- Hydraulics
- Structural, civil and façade engineering
- Environmentally Sustainable Design
- Vibration and acoustic consulting
