Following a slew of philanthropic donations, the University of Sydney will consolidate seven science schools under one roof with a new $478 million medical precinct to be built next to Prince Alfred Hospital, designed by Denton Corker Marshall and HDR.
The biomedical facility will house 1200 researchers and is regarded as the centrepiece of the institution’s 10-year strategic plan. $73 million of the $478 million in funding has come from donations, with the $20 million contributed by the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation making the organisation the biggest named donor in the history of the university, with a total of $66 million donated to the university.
Dubbed the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator, the facility will comprise three buildings on USYD’s Camperdown campus. Scientists and researchers will collaborate with their relevant industries and governmental bodies in an attempt to mitigate a number of modern health challenges.
USYD Vice Chancellor Mark Scott says the facility will be benchmarked against a number of the world’s foremost medical institutes.
“The diseases we will be attacking need a genuine multidisciplinary response, and that’s what a great comprehensive university can do,” he tells the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We are attacking the diseases that still remain incurable, and where researchers have toiled for decades and not had the breakthroughs they’ve sought.”
Organic Chemistry Professor Richard Payne says the new building will allow for researchers from a number of different schools to collaborate in the one precinct.
“The only way to tackle global health challenges is to bring disciplines together. Universities have not connected well with local industry in the past and having researchers on one site will help medical discoveries be translated to the clinic and to the patient,” he says.
The NSW Government has allocated $143 million for the project, with $26 million donated from Marie Knispel, the late General Practitioner. The building is expected to be completed in 2026.
