Victorian Heart Hospital to be built by John Holland Group

The Victorian government has released early designs of Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital.

Designed by Conrad Gargett and John Wardle Architects, in joint venture, the Victorian Heart Hospital will be located at Monash University in Clayton on a site adjacent to the Australian Synchrotron.

The design takes inspiration from the tree-lined university campus site, with an emphasis on opening the building to the surrounding landscape.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said, “The first designs show a world-class hospital that places patient needs and wellbeing at its very heart. It will save and change thousands of lives.”

At the time of the architects’ appointment in January, Conrad Gargett director and the project’s health design director Rebecca Moore said, “Through innovative design, this state-of-the-art environment has the potential to transform cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention by […] bringing the various occupants together in imaginative ways.”

The proposed hospital will accommodate 195 beds, an emergency department, cardiac catheterization labs, specialist surgical and imaging facilities and tele-medicine services for Victorian, interstate and even international patients. The hospital will have capacity to provide 2,000 cardiac surgeries per year and 108,000 consultations and outpatient appointments.

It will also become a training facility for cardiac medicine, nursing and related healthcare professions. 

The Victorian government committed $396 million to fully fund the construction of the $543 million hospital in its 2018-19 budget.

Early construction works will start later this year by the John Holland Group – the preferred contractor of the Victorian Heart Hospital. Echoing the experience of John Wardle and Conrad Gargett architects, the John Holland Group are specialists in hospital construction, particularly for their work on the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Source: VHHSBA, ArchitectureAU