For cancer patients, the degree of uncertainty in the treatment journey is profoundly stressful. A conscious empathy for this emotional and psychological challenge underlies the design approach Woods Bagot has embedded in the new Australian Bragg Centre, a ground-breaking clinical and research facility within Adelaide’s health and biomedical precinct.
The Building
The 15-level, 32,000 square metre building is home to Australia’s first proton therapy unit, located in three underground levels. This form of treatment is a noninvasive and highly targeted radiotherapy for inoperable tumours that was previously unavailable in Australia.
Recognising that younger patients have elevated needs for calm, comfort and security, Woods Bagot has ensured the above-ground patient levels incorporate abundant natural light, biophilic curves and warm timber materials, spaces that feel restful, areas for privacy, and areas where patients, carers and Bragg Centre staff can converge organically.
The Requirement
To achieve LEED Gold, design and materiality must achieve exemplary energy-efficiency and indoor environment quality, including reduction of airborne pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which may be off-gassed from materials.
Woods Bagot Principal and project lead Thomas Masullo said the project was approached using the practice’s ‘People Architecture’ philosophy. The challenge was to encourage energy efficiency in dry laboratories and clinical trial zones through a wholebuilding approach that enables occupants to improve the efficiency of the entire facility. “This was achievable by the passive design of the floor plates with a central core that responded to the internal programme,” Masullo explains.
The Solution
The design promotes occupant comfort, well-being and productivity through initiatives including the resolution of the façade, which features glazing performance and shading solutions designed to improve daylight, reduce heat gain and solar glare and maintain visual connection to the external environment.
Verosol blinds play a crucial role in providing the appropriate balance between outlook, daylight, human comfort, safety and privacy where required. 944 motorised Verosol blinds in total, comprising 16 Veromax Roller blinds with an 8mtr drop, and 928 Ambience Roller Blinds encompassing both single & multi-link systems, were installed for the project.
From levels 3 to 14, Verosol Ambience motorised wireguided roller blinds using 103 SilverScreen Earth semitransparent metallised fabric in colour 0031-White have been utilised along the façade line across the entire building. Motorised for ease and in conjunction with the perforated sun shading fins on the façade exterior, the semi-transparent SilverScreen blinds dramatically reduce solar heat gain and interior glare, while still enabling natural light and views to be accessible inside every room and space.
Verosol’s 103 SilverScreen Earth metallised fabric delivers 62% solar reflectance to reduce the blazing heat of the South Australian sun, while the fire-retardant properties and the PVC-free materiality also addresses the need for a safe and healthy indoor environment.
