Bligh Voller Nield has been awarded the 2007 Canberra Medallion for the Australian National University Medical School at Canberra Hospital. The Canberra Medallion is the highest award given by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) ACT Chapter in its annual awards programme. The awards jury said: “This elegant and modest building sits comfortably alongside a number of older, more ponderous buildings near the main entrance to the Canberra Hospital. It is not a large building but it has a presence beyond its mere size.”
The project was a joint initiative between the Australian National University and the ACT Government. The brief was for the construction of a medical learning centre integrated with the clinical workplace at the Canberra Hospital. The two-storey project incorporates academic office accommodation, a multimedia auditorium, tutorial spaces, student common-rooms and amenities on the upper level, as well as the hospital library at the entry level. The building also has ecologically sensitive sustainable design strategies, including the utilisation of fresh air cycles and night purging, an energy management system, solar hot water, roof-lights and atria that provide filtered natural light.
