Northern Beaches Hospital is a new model of healthcare delivery for the state of New South Wales (NSW). Healthscope was contracted by the NSW Government to design, construct, operate and maintain the new Northern Beaches Hospital, which is a 439-bed public and private hospital combined in one integrated facility. BVN Architecture was a key partner, along with CPB Contractors, in the design and development of the hospital, and in the winning of the project through a competitive bid process.

Hospital architecture is not just a matter of constructing a building; it is a question of balancing the needs of an ever-changing professional environment whilst also navigating and incorporating social and environmental sustainability, economics, and most importantly, human beings. BVN worked closely with Healthscope to ensure staff, clinician, patient, carer and visitor needs were synthesised. The campus design focused on accessibility and safety, and importantly, a sense of welcome for patients and their families and the many hundreds of staff who will inhabit it daily.

The massing of the building was carefully considered to consciously define the building’s presence. The façades have been broken up into a fine linear patterning of window and wall in a playful counterpart to the scale of the building – a strong and definable form with a delicate skin. Glazed masonry brick on the building’s base provides both scale and texture to areas that engage with the ground plane. A series of beautiful detailed photographs were commissioned for the interior, providing a playful connection to the natural environments that are so integral to the Northern Beaches.

Northern Beaches Hospital demonstrates that through understanding and accommodating new models of care and service delivery, and through learning from other building types – such as the home, the airport, the workplace and our urban and community centres – it is possible to realise a new kind of hospital.

Photography: John Gollings and Yilun Zhang.