NORTHERN BEACHES HOSPITAL – Sydney, Australia

Hospital architecture must balance the needs of an ever-changing environment that juggles complex workflows, infection control, technology, sustainability, economics, and most importantly - human beings.

Northern Beaches Hospital is vast and complex with 70000m2 of space contained within its walls. And yet it’s a warm, inviting and well designed space for the hundreds of people that pass through every day.

Feeling welcoming is vital counter the stress and anxiety often felt in hospitals, and to remove the sense of anonymity. BVN use this as a lens in considering everything from scale to material to colour to texture to wayfinding.

The hospital is a healing space, a recuperation space, a workplace, a learning space and an intimate family space. Central to making all of these work well, is clarity of navigation. 

Artwork and graphics have been used to bring colour and joy throughout the facility – incorporated at a scale that befits the space. Working with local artists, and with neighbouring high school students, the hospital's visual imagery aims to connect people with a sense of care community.

Northern Beaches Hospital is the first public hospital in NSW to achieve a 4 Star Green Star rating (design, build and operation).

Photography by John Gollings