The Design & Health International Academy Awards 2012 has announced the projects that have been awarded high commendations and gave Robina Hospital expansion designed by BVN an award in the Interior Design category.

This puts Robina amongst the projects that have been shortlisted for the Overall Award Winner 2012 in the Interior Design category that will be announced at the World Health Congress being held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 30 June.

Robina Hospital forms part of the infrastructure of the Gold Coast Health Service District and its expansion has transformed a small local hospital into a major regional health facility.

BVN Principal Mark Grimmer noted that the design is based around the idea of the modern healthcare environment as a place of wellness, and also a workplace for highly skilled staff.

The principal components of the scheme are the new main entry and public area, a two-storey Eastern wing housing an outpatients department at ground floor with operating theatre suites above, and a four-storey ward building with a medical school at ground level.

Throughout there is a focus on using natural light and colour and this together with the use of different types of art provide visual surprises and temporary distractions for both patients and staff, according to Grimmer.

This is the latest award to be given to Robina, it has already received the WAN The World Architecture ‘Winner Healthcare Project of the Year Interiors and Design Awards 2011’ for creating ‘a healthcare environment which challenges preconceptions of how a hospital should look and feel and what the hospital experience should be like.’

Additionally it won the Building of the Year Award at The Australian Institute of Architects’ 2012 Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards in April which put it on the shortlist for a Queensland State Award that will be announced on 22 June in Brisbane.

According to Mark Grimmer, BVN Principal in charge of the Robina design, "these awards acknowledge the importance of paying attention to the quality of health care environments."

Images courtesy BVN