BLP designed and delivered this new Short Stay Unit for Austin Hospital above the ambulance bay to optimise real estate on the very constrained site. The façade adopts the existing hospital tower’s aesthetic but features red panels with distorted proportions to form supergraphic chevrons that clarify wayfinding.
Project Name: Austin Health Short Stay Unit
Studio Name: Billard Leece Partnership
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Photography: Ian Ten Seldam
The unit includes an additional 20 beds for paediatric and short stay observation patients, and four beds for the Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Unit. The layout is optimised to enable ED patients to be identified early and streamed to an appropriate specialist facility to receive personalised care.
An indoor lounge opens up to a safe outdoor lounge, flooded with natural light and long views, grass underfoot, fresh air and an ability to meander in peace.
The expansion significantly reduces wait times and enhances the ED’s capacity to receive patients, and enables the effective management of patients who require extended treatment.
