STH, HASSELL, Hames Sharley win Hospital design contract

A consortium of Western Australian architects and planners has outdone a number of national and international bids to win the design and planning contract for Murdoch's $1.1 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital.

The group comprising the Perth and Melbourne offices of STH (Silver Thomas Hanley), HASSELL and Hames Sharley will start master planning work immediately on the 643-bed tertiary hospital, set to be WA's flagship health facility when it opens in 2012.

Minister for health Jim McGinty said it had secured a world-class team of architects and planners that were responsible for outstanding work in WA, Australia and internationally.

"I'm very confident this team will help develop a hospital that not only meets the needs of our health system, but is an iconic asset for the state that represents global best practice," Mr McGinty said.

The 120,000 square metre hospital is expected to offer a range of acute medical and surgical services including a major 24-hour emergency department, a state centre for the treatment of major burns, heart and lung transplants and WA's first comprehensive cancer services centre.

Health facility planner and STH director Giorgio Raffa said the project was a rare opportunity and a huge challenge to design a hospital on a greenfields site, but the consortium had the experience and the people to do it.

"We all have complimentary skills which we will bring together. Our challenge will be to work with the government within budget to help realise its vision for the WA health system," Mr Raffa said.

Mr Raffa revealed the hospital would be designed to allow a 1,000 bed capacity through potential expansion in 2015 and again in 2020.

The consortium plans to call on international experts to engage in workshops including urban planner John Worthington, London-based architect Dr Ken Yeang and Professor Roger Ulrich whose work has influenced the architectural design and site planning of many major hospitals in the US and Europe.

Mr Raffa said the team would have its first meeting with the government tomorrow and expected to have the detailed design phase completed by April 2008.

Construction was likely to start at the end of 2008, he said.

The full text of the Ministerial announcement is pasted below

Architects appointed for flagship hospital.

Western Australia's new $1.1billion Fiona Stanley Hospital is a step closer with the appointment of a specially formed team of architects and planners who will design the facility.

Health Minister Jim McGinty said a consortium of three renowned practices with international standing had won the contract to plan and design the hospital.

"We have secured a world-class team of architects and planners responsible for outstanding work here in Western Australia, nationally and internationally," Mr McGinty said.

"The group comprises the Perth and Melbourne offices of STH (Silver Thomas Hanley) and Hassell and Hames Sharley, with the ability to call on more than 180 locally-based architectural and planning personnel and more than 1,500 world wide.

"I'm very confident this team will help develop a hospital that not only meets the needs of our health system, but is an iconic asset for the State that represents global best practice.

Minister for Housing and Works Michelle Roberts said the group had international-standard planning and design expertise with a proven track record in the health sector and the WA building industry.

"Design plays a critical role in the effective delivery of high-quality care. It is now well documented that better buildings lead to better health outcomes," Mrs Roberts said.

"The architects and planners involved have an impressive local, national and international portfolio including the Olympic Station at Homebush, Sydney; the Lyell McEwin Redevelopment in Adelaide; the 140 William Street Development in Perth, the Alibaba Campus in Shanghai, the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and New Zealand's Christchurch Women's Hospital.

"Team members have also undertaken much of the development, planning and design for major public and private Western Australian health projects including the $536million redevelopment of the QEII Medical Centre; the $100million transformation of the Rockingham Kwinana District Hospital; the $80million development of the Osborne Park Hospital and the $100million-plus St John of God Healthcare redevelopment at Subiaco."
The consortium will also call on international experts such as Professor Roger Ulrich whose work has influenced the architectural design and site planning of scores of major hospitals in the USA and Europe; John Worthington, a pioneer in methods of adapting urban and space planning techniques to meet the needs of the emerging knowledge economy; and Dr Ken Yeang, based in London and regarded as one of the most innovative architects addressing the need for sustainable design in large, multi-storey buildings.

Mrs Roberts said the once-in-a-lifetime challenge of developing WA's newest tertiary hospital had attracted national and international bids.

"The hospital is the lynchpin of a total rebuild of the State's health system - and a crucial step towards its improved safety, sustainability and efficiency," Mrs Robert said.

Mr McGinty said that following his recent trip to view America's most innovative and technologically-advanced hospitals he had asked the Department of Health to investigate the cost of significantly increasing the proportion of single bed rooms.

"Previously, we had planned to have single bed rooms make up 50 per cent of the total rooms, however I am now interested in increasing the number of single rooms, perhaps even up to 95 or 100 per cent, " he said.

"Single bed rooms are the norm in America's best hospitals as they provide greater privacy and better infection control."

When construction is complete in 2012, the Fiona Stanley Hospital will be WA's flagship health facility - a state-of-the-art tertiary hospital that will offer comprehensive health care services to communities south of Perth and across Western Australia.

The 643-bed hospital will offer an array of acute medical and surgical services including:

• the State centre for treatment of major trauma, burns, and heart and lung transplants;
• WA's first comprehensive cancer service south of the river including radiotherapy treatment facilities, medical oncology and haematology;
• renal transplantation and dialysis;
• a major 24-hour emergency department;
• paediatrics;
• cardiothoracic services;
• radiology services including CT and MRI scanning; and
• a state-of-the-art medical research facility to be built in conjunction with universities and the WA Institute of Medical Research.

The design team will start work immediately, with site works in Murdoch expected to commence late in 2008.