Queensland’s new $1.5B Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital designed by Conrad Gargett Lyons has officially opened to the public, becoming Australia’s largest and most advanced children’s hospital.

“We’re very excited to see the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, which was seven years in the making, become a fully operational children’s health campus,” said Project Director Bruce Wolfe from Conrad Gargett.

“The permeability of the design - being accessible and open - connects with public zones and makes the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital a real community building,” he said.

“The hospital also incorporates generous landscaped areas at so many of the levels, allowing access to the outside environment, natural light and fresh air.”

Children’s Health Queensland Chief Executive Dr Peter Steer said building the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital was a highly complex task which has been successfully delivered.

‘‘The contemporary design we envisaged several years ago has been delivered and will allow us to achieve our goal of delivering patient and family-focused healthcare,’’ Dr Steer said.

‘‘I’m not sure there’s a facility like this anywhere else in the country.’’

Dr Steer said stakeholder engagement had been critical to the project in order to meet the needs of the patient, staff and also the community.

‘‘Considering the community vision has been key to the project’s success and an aspect where I think the intent of the architects has lived true.

‘‘The design team has ensured the hospital is open to the community through major windows that allow people both to see in and see out from this facility.

“This not only helps with finding context while you’re inside the building but also builds community connections - something critical for a children’s hospital.’’

Dubbed a ‘super hospital’, the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital brings staff and services from two hospitals together into a new purpose-designed 359 bed tertiary/quaternary hospital to deliver state of the art paediatric care to the state-wide community. The completed hospital forms a new major landmark for Brisbane, connecting with the city’s popular South Bank precinct, Somerville House and St Laurence’s College. The international award-winning design references the structure of a tree with a ‘trunk’ and ‘branches’ providing vertical and horizontal linkages that unite diverse cultures, moving beyond silo departments and creating a rich community environment.

The tree structure also enables intuitive way-finding and offers greater access to natural light, fresh air and landscaping which are conducive to a healing environment.
Extensive sun shading responds to Brisbane’s subtropical climate and forms a major design element with purple and green blades referencing the surrounding nature, while expansive openings in the building’s façade connect the internal spaces to the outside.

The landscape architecture, carried out solely by Conrad Gargett, plays a major role in the design of the hospital and includes a large green sloping roof, transplanted 30 year-old fig trees, state of the art play areas and a number of roof gardens for recreation and rehabilitation. The holistic design of the hospital highlights the wellness benefits of nature with healing gardens and therapeutic outdoor spaces.

The design of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital has already been recognised on the international stage with Conrad Gargett Lyons winning the prestigious Future Health Project Award in the Design & Health International Academy Awards last year.

[Watch the video here]

For more information/to arrange an interview with Bruce Wolfe, please contact: 

Megan Tough, Account Manager, Lindy Johnson T + 61 (0)448 094 400 | [email protected]