Responding to people and place within the cancer treatment journey

For cancer patients, the degree of uncertainty in the treatment journey is profoundly stressful. A conscious empathy for this emotional and psychological challenge underscores the design approach Woods Bagot has embedded in the new Australian Bragg Centre, a ground-breaking clinical and research facility within Adelaide’s health and biomedical precinct.

The building

The 15-level, 32,000-square-metre building is home to Australia’s first proton therapy unit, located in three underground levels. This form of treatment is a non-invasive and highly targeted radiotherapy for inoperable tumours that was previously unavailable in Australia.

Recognising that younger patients have elevated needs for calm, comfort and security, Woods Bagot has ensured the above-ground patient levels incorporate abundant natural light, biophilic curves and warm timber materials, spaces that feel restful, areas for privacy, and areas where patients, carers and Bragg Centre staff can converge organically.

The requirement

To achieve LEED Gold, design and materiality must achieve exemplary energy-efficiency and indoor environment quality, including reduction of airborne pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which may be off-gassed from materials.

Woods Bagot Principal and project lead Thomas Masullo said the project was approached using the practice’s ‘People Architecture’ philosophy. The challenge was to encourage energy efficiency in dry laboratories and clinical trial zones through a whole building approach that enables occupants to improve the efficiency of the entire facility. “This was achievable by the passive design of the floor plates with a central core that responded to the internal programme,” Masullo explains.

The solution

The design promotes occupant comfort, wellbeing and productivity through initiatives including the resolution of the façade, which features glazing performance and shading solutions designed to improve daylight, reduce heat gain and solar glare, and maintain visual connection to the external environment.

Verosol blinds play a crucial role in providing the appropriate balance between outlook, daylight, human comfort, safety and privacy where required. The installation involved 944 motorised Verosol blinds in all, comprising 16 Veromax roller blinds with an 8m drop, and 928 Ambience roller blinds encompassing both single and multi-link systems.

From levels 3 to 14, Verosol Ambience motorised wire-guided roller blinds using 103 SilverScreen Earth semi-transparent metallised fabric in colour 0031-White have been utilised along the façade line across the entire building. Motorised for ease and in conjunction with the perforated sun shading fins on the façade exterior, the semi-transparent SilverScreen blinds dramatically reduce solar heat gain and interior glare, while still enabling natural light and views to be accessible inside every room and space.

Verosol’s 103 SilverScreen Earth metallised fabric delivers 62% solar reflectance to reduce the blazing heat of the South Australian sun, while the fire-retardant properties and PVC-free materiality also address the need for a safe and healthy indoor environment.

Project details

Project: Bragg Centre

Area: 33,500 m² | 15 Levels
12 above-ground storeys and three below-ground ‘bunker’ levels
Upper Levels | Dry lab research spaces
Proton therapy unit (PTU) within the underground levels, with high-energy, positively charged particles (protons)

Location: Adelaide, SA

Architect: Woods Bagot

Builder: RLB Oceania [Rider Levett Bucknall]

Sector: Healthcare

Window Coverings:

Ambience Motorised Roller Blinds
Ambience Motorised Multi-Link Roller Blinds
Custom Heavy Duty Veromax Motorised Roller Blinds with 8m Drops
BMS Integration, Fully Automated Solution

Featured Fabrics:

103 SilverScreen Earth
737 Veropaque G3 Blockout

Architecture & Design Team

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Verosol Australia

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