Prince of Wales Hospital Acute Services Building
The Prince of Wales Hospital Acute Services Building is a catalyst project for the transformation of the Randwick Health and Innovation Precinct and the first major upgrade to Prince of Wales Hospital in 25 years.
Designed to meet the needs of patients, workers and the community, the expansive open spaces go beyond meeting functional requirements to realise the regenerative potential of the landscape.
Read more +
- TRADITIONAL OWNERS & ONGOING CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND Bidjigal people of the Dharawal Nation
- Client Health Infrastructure (NSW)
- Location Randwick, Sydney, Australia
- Year 2017 - 2023
ASPECT’s design blends the project’s health and social connectivity objectives with the coastal landscape ecology of the local area, honouring the former windswept sand dunes and Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub to create a ‘hospital within the landscape’.
This project demonstrates how genuine engagement throughout the design process can produce exemplary urban and landscape outcomes while fostering genuine connections with the wider community. Developed in conjunction with the Gujaga Foundation, the Buriburi whale carving and Aboriginal Hearthstones display are as two tangible outcomes of this process. A collection of 8,500-year-old hearthstones, recovered during Prince of Wales Hospital site demolition works, have been integrated into a circular curated space providing moments of quiet reflection and meaningful community association. The incorporation of Aboriginal language and storytelling celebrates the cultural history of the site and fosters continued connection to Country.
The Buriburi sandstone carving situated at the Botany Street entry was crafted by Elders in partnership with young First Nations individuals, showcasing their cultural and storytelling practices. These significant knowledge pieces, generously shared with the project, serve as tangible reminders of the enduring connection between the land and its people.
The Buriburi sandstone carving situated at the Botany Street entry was crafted by Elders in partnership with young First Nations individuals, showcasing their cultural and storytelling practices. These significant knowledge pieces, generously shared with the project, serve as tangible reminders of the enduring connection between the land and its people.
The urban design prioritises integration with the wider urban fabric, fostering a welcoming and safe environment that enhances local pedestrian and ecological connectivity. Public domain and streetscapes provide distinctive and legible entries to the site, while integrating with the broader precinct. Technical constraints are resolved in a way that prioritises pedestrian and streetscape amenity, balancing access requirements into the site with safe access and legible signage along adjoining streets. A series of curved seating spaces nestled within the rich planting palette provides points of quiet respite adjacent to treatment facilities.
- TEAM ASPECT Studios, BVN Architecture, Terroir, Jonathan Jones, Lendlease, Urbanite, Acor, Arup, Gujaga Foundation
- Awards 2024 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia; National Infrastructure Awards - Project of the Year
- PHOTOGRAPHY Florian Groehn
- AWARDS 2024 National Infrastructure Awards – Project of the Year
Parkland planting along the site’s frontage to Botany Street provides a landscape buffer between the street environment with nesting boxes for microbats, possums and small birds. Internal courtyards are planted with lush gully species appropriate to these subterranean environments with, delighting staff, patients and visitors as they pass by.
