Flinders University’s new Health and Medical Research Building (HMRB) in Adelaide’s south has achieved a major milestone, with the Architectus-designed precinct officially topping out late last month.
The ten storey building will soon play host to 600 medical researchers, clinicians, and professional staff located adjacent to the Flinders Medical Centre and Private Hospital. One of the state’s largest suite of PC2-rated physical containment labs is comprised within the building, which spans five floors. The labs will feature first-rate cell imaging equipment, which will allow researchers to improve health and prevent disease amongst the city, with a focus on molecular biosciences, clinical translation and healthy communities.
“Flinders’ Health and Medical Research Building will utterly transform the south and this biomedical precinct, while building on the University’s 50-year partnership with the Flinders Medical Centre, just metres away,” says SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.
“The state-of-the-art facility will be a game-changer for health and medical research in South Australia, complementing the Government’s generational investment to rebuild the State’s health system.
“Today’s topping out is a great milestone for the advancement of health and medical research in our state, and I congratulate Flinders University for their research excellence, innovation and commitment to the health and wellbeing of our community.”
Architectus has created a sustainable precinct powered solely from renewables and built to a Gold WELL and LEED certification. 100 percent of the waste created in construction has been diverted from landfill. The facility has been designed with, and to serve, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Flinders Vice Chancellor Colin Stirling says the building is an extension of the university’s strong medical research.
“In the past five years, Flinders’ research income has grown by more than 145 percent, spearheaded by an expansion in the medical, nursing and health sciences disciplines that have recorded unprecedented growth in that time,” he says.
Building on our proud history as a pioneer in innovative health as the first medical school in the nation to be integrated into a public hospital, HMRB is a $280 million gift by the university to the people of South Australia.
“Our research will tackle major health challenges of the 21st century, including early determinants of disease, the burden of chronic disease and pain, Indigenous health, maternal and child health, and the search for increasingly effective treatments for diabetes, infection and cancers.”
Completion for the building is scheduled for 2024.
