The design scheme by Denton Corker Marshall + HDR has been selected for the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA), a 36,000m² first-in-Australia health, research and education facility equipped with a range of laboratory research facilities and clinical learning spaces.
Denton Corker Marshall + HDR, in collaboration with Arcadia Landscape Architecture and Aileen Sage, won the design competition to create the integrated health, education and research precinct for The University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The precinct is set to create an Australian benchmark for the integration of world-leading biomedical science with clinical research and innovation.
The $478-million co-funded partnership project between the NSW Government, Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) and The University of Sydney represents the largest ever capital investment to build a nation-leading biomedical precinct to fast-track research and patient care in New South Wales.
The design proposal by Denton Corker Marshall + HDR was chosen by the competition jury for achieving the key project vision to deliver an internationally recognisable facility. “The scheme delivers a world-class biomedical innovation precinct that celebrates the relationship between the University and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital campuses,” the jury said. For the first time, a physical bridge will connect the two buildings.
Alongside a seven-storey circulation spine called the ‘Connector’, which is at the heart of Denton Corker Marshall’s design, HDR, as laboratory planning lead, has designed a range of education and laboratory research facilities, specialist core laboratories and technical support spaces that bring together multidisciplinary teams and integrate fundamental research at the molecular and cellular level with patient-centred research and health outcomes.
Adrian FitzGerald, senior director, Denton Corker Marshall stated: “We designed the building as a clear, simple sculptural form with a solid base acknowledging its campus setting; a floating top with compelling imagery alluding to both scientific investigation within and an embedded indigenous narrative in the sculptural sunscreens.”
“It is a building for the future with clarity and memorability combining to produce timeless campus architecture,” he added.
Graeme Spencer, national director of Education + Science, HDR stated: “By pairing our local and global scientific expertise, we have a unique opportunity to design and deliver a series of state-of-the-art, highly adaptable biomedical laboratories where education, healthcare, engineering, and science converge, ultimately enabling SLHD and The University of Sydney to succeed in biomedical research.”
Vice-chancellor and president of The University of Sydney, Professor Mark Scott says: “We are delighted with the winning design by Denton Corker Marshall + HDR, which exemplifies the fusion of world-leading research facilities with a dynamic public realm where researchers, staff and students can all gather in a culturally significant setting. We are especially pleased with the contemporary interpretation of Indigenous sense of place and identity.”
Early works for the new precinct will commence this year and initial occupation is expected to occur from 2026.
