Understanding the people we are designing for is the crucial first step in person-centred and community-centred design. We are not homogenous, we are multi-cultural and multi-faceted. We bring our histories, our stories and our knowledge with us. Starting with a local focus in Adelaide, lands of the Kaurna People, this session will start to unpack the social disadvantage that persists in our communities. In this exploration, healthcare cannot be seen in isolation, it must be understood as one part of our social services system that is present throughout our lives.

As allies, we need to understand ourselves, listen deeply to others and find ways to create change even where changing systems is difficult and at times frustrating or even feels hopeless. This is actually the work.

This session will draw from real experiences working with communities across South Australia, addressing health, justice, family services including Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal, and culturally diverse communities.

The new Footscray Hospital is Victoria’s largest single health infrastructure investment—an AU$1.5 billion public-private partnership (PPP) designed and delivered during the global pandemic. Honouring the legacy of the original ‘People’s Hospital’, which was championed by the local community, the project engages stakeholders throughout to create a contemporary, community-focused facility.

The development seeks to establish a new ecosystem of health for Melbourne’s western suburbs, shaped through collaboration between the Victorian Government, Western Health, Plenary Health, and a design team led by COX Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership. The PPP model supports the delivery of a long-term community asset—one that promotes health and wellbeing beyond clinical care.

The hospital includes a diverse mix of public and community-facing spaces: central green areas, cafés, retail, childcare, a gym, allied health services, medical clinics, and education and research facilities. Scheduled to open in late 2025, it will operate under a 25-year PPP arrangement between Plenary Health, the Victorian Government, and Western Health.

Electrifying existing hospitals can lower emissions, improve resilience, reduce operating costs, and enhance community health. This session outlines a roadmap for how designers, government, hospital operators and health professionals can work together to make this transition a reality.

Healthy Futures and Lucid Consulting combine technical expertise with grassroots health advocacy to deliver a credible and practical pathway for strengthening health infrastructure while supporting healthier communities.

The session will showcase recent examples of electrification in both new and existing hospital projects, highlight practical outcomes, and explore the challenges involved in upgrading healthcare assets.

Drawing on insights from more than 50 meetings with stakeholders across the healthcare sector, we will demonstrate the benefits of taking a national approach to building a more resilient, sustainable health system.

How can we design for a climate-resilient future while meeting the changing needs of our communities? In this timely conversation, local health leaders from across Australia share their perspectives on climate adaptation and community-centred design in healthcare.

Our panellists – including facility planners and service operators – will reflect on how demographic shifts, climate pressures, and evolving expectations are reshaping healthcare spaces.

• How can we accelerate the adoption of climate-adaptive design in health infrastructure?
• In what ways can the built environment better support carers, families, and community engagement?
• As the role of the hospital evolves, can it become a stronger hub for community wellbeing?

As healthcare systems face increasing pressure and limited capital, design decisions have never been more critical. This session explores cost-effective hospital design strategies that genuinely improve health outcomes—across a range of project scales.

Through three case studies — a small renovated clinic, a mid-sized 500-bed hospital, and a large 1,500-bed acute care facility — we’ll examine how thoughtful planning, evidence-based design, and resource-conscious innovation can create healing environments without compromising quality of care. Join us to unpack what works, why it works, and how these lessons can be applied to projects of any size.

PRESENTED BY PLASMA SHIELD — INNOVATION PARTNER

The worldview on indoor air quality in hospital design has changed. This presentation will focus on practical examples demonstrating that infrastructure planners, architects and designers can achieve carbon emission targets and improved air quality at the same time. Conventional thinking held that outdoor air was clean and the carbon emissions involved in heating and cooling it were unavoidable.

Contemporary design shows that is no longer the case – and the global benchmark for Control of Infectious Aerosols ASHRAE 241 gives us a pathway to profoundly improve air quality – avoiding mould, infections and achieving compliance, all whilst reducing emissions. The practical examples have been peer reviewed – with results a 93.7% improvement in viral load, a five-fold risk reduction and a decrease of 50% of outside air. This change has been brought about by the release of ASHRAE 241 in 2023 and the development of new technology, such as Electron Beam Irradiation. The presentation will be sure to not feature any branding or commercial approaches.

Government and industry partnerships are essential to delivering healthcare that is more accessible, more affordable, and more resilient. This panel brings together leading voices from both sectors to examine how collaboration can drive greater impact with fewer resources.

Through case studies and strategic insights, the panel will unpack the practical frameworks that support cost-effective innovation in service delivery and health infrastructure.

• What design strategies deliver the highest value for population health?
• How are new models of care reshaping infrastructure needs across primary, aged, disability, and mental health care?
• What barriers do we face in achieving climate-resilient, community-centred facilities—and how can we overcome them together?

Healthcare education is being reshaped by the realities of a technological future. As technology transforms how care is delivered, it is also redefining how—and where—health professionals are trained. Simulation, remote instruction and blended learning are now standard, replacing static, classroom-based models. Hospitals, once peripheral to formal education, are now key sites for learning.

This shift is driving demand for integrated, flexible and digitally enabled teaching spaces—whether through new builds or adaptive reuse. From ward-based instruction to dedicated simulation centres, hospital environments must support a dynamic mix of practical, theoretical and collaborative learning. Future-proof, well-designed education spaces are essential to workforce development, service quality and long-term system sustainability.

This presentation draws on a new, comprehensive research study involving interviews with 25 senior healthcare educators, clinicians and specialist architects from across Australia. It also includes an extensive literature review and case studies of innovative local and international exemplars. The session explores how pedagogical and technological change is shaping physical and digital learning environments, with a focus on flexibility, adaptability and integration within clinical settings.

The Pathway to 144 Mental Health Beds project marks the first tranche of new, contemporary mental health facilities delivered in response to the Final Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.

Located at Northern Hospital, Sunshine Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital and the McKellar Centre, the four projects represent a “second wave” of de-institutionalisation. Each was co-designed with people with lived experience, aligning with the Commission’s call for greater consumer agency in both care delivery and the settings in which care is accessed.

NH Architecture, in collaboration with AECOM, NTC Architects and BG Architecture, was engaged to deliver these facilities. The design approach builds on evidence-based salutogenic and biophilic principles to support wellbeing, identity and personal agency—marking a major step forward in the evolution of mental health infrastructure.

This presentation explores how the Queensland Satellite Health Centre Program translated core healthcare goals into thoughtfully designed community health facilities—and how those outcomes are now delivering on their promise.

Developed to ease pressure on tertiary hospitals and emergency departments, the program delivered seven strategically located centres across south-east Queensland. Positioned in suburban areas, these facilities aim to improve access, reduce travel and wait times, and provide more equitable healthcare closer to home.

Through a lens of integrated care and human-centred design, the session examines how key objectives—enhancing patient journeys, fostering community connection, and creating healing environments—were embedded into architectural and landscape outcomes. Data on facility use and performance will highlight the tangible impact of these design strategies.

Multiple perspectives, including those of the design team and healthcare providers, reveal how these centres respond to the evolving needs of Queensland’s diverse communities. Together, they provide a blueprint for future community healthcare infrastructure, where built form and service delivery work in unison to support better health outcomes. These centres are positioned as a new benchmark in suburban healthcare design.

The Velindre Cancer Centre is a 55,000m² new-build facility in Cardiff, Wales, currently being delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP). Designed as a high-tech cancer treatment centre, the project is an exemplar of sustainable healthcare design, employing innovative strategies to reduce embodied carbon and minimise operational energy use.

The centre prioritises access to high-quality natural environments, with well-lit spaces that connect patients and staff to the surrounding landscape. Its design focuses on creating therapeutic environments that support wellbeing while delivering clinical excellence.

This keynote will bring together the contractor and architect to share insights into the design and delivery process of what aspires to be the UK’s greenest hospital.

As the healthcare system continues to evolve, how can planning keep pace? With the support of the Australasian Association of Health Planners (AAHP), this panel explores how infrastructure and service planning can respond to new models of care, digital transformation, and rising complexity.

Our expert panellists – including planners, researchers, and system innovators – will discuss how better use of data, design, and collaboration can support flexible, future-ready facilities.

• Can we plan and design spaces that adapt to shifting care models?
• What technologies are already transforming healthcare delivery – and what’s next?
• How can data and research guide strategic investment in infrastructure?
• Will greater collaboration across disciplines drive more resilient and responsive systems?

Session Chair: Isabelle Mansour, Principal Healthcare Planner, Mott MacDonald. AHDC Committee Secretary and Events Lead.

The Australasian Association of Health Planners (AAHP), established in 2024, advocates for professional recognition in health planning and promotes excellence in planning practices that deliver resilient, equitable healthcare across Australia and New Zealand.

This presentation shares findings from a PhD study exploring how architectural design can better support adolescents in paediatric palliative care, with a focus on privacy, autonomy and identity. Adolescence is a time of significant psychosocial change — marked by emotional independence, identity formation and emerging sexuality — yet these developmental needs are often overlooked in hospice design. While clinical discourse increasingly recognises adolescents as a distinct cohort, built environments continue to reflect institutionalised assumptions about patienthood.

Using a multi-method research approach—including spatial analysis of seven paediatric hospices and interviews with 22 architects and palliative care professionals—the study interrogates conventional design strategies and highlights critical gaps in current practice.

Rather than reinforcing default solutions, this presentation calls for a re-evaluation of spatial norms that marginalise adolescent needs. It proposes that privacy, control and intimacy must be redefined beyond spatial isolation, and that design frameworks should engage with the ethical and emotional complexities of dying young.

It advocates for an expanded architectural vocabulary — one that is sensitive to developmental identity, challenges institutional neutrality, and addresses often-overlooked topics such as adolescent sexuality and agency at end of life.

As the complexity of healthcare design increases, embedding research into design practice is more vital than ever. This session brings together architects and researchers working at the intersection of inquiry and implementation, to discuss how research can meaningfully influence real-world healthcare environments.

The panel will explore the practicalities of integrating research into projects, the challenges of selecting and applying methodologies, and the opportunities that emerge when practice and evidence inform each other.

• How are research programs structured within design firms?
• What trends and topics are shaping healthcare design research today?
• What are the practical barriers to applying research methods in design workflows?
• Which projects demonstrate meaningful research impact?
• How can stronger links between research and design improve outcomes for patients, staff, and organisations?

This session is supported by the AHDC Research Sub-Committee.

This presentation reflects on the opportunities and challenges of co-design in the context of a disability housing project. In 2024, the Motor Accident Insurance Board (MAIB) engaged Jasmax Architects, in collaboration with Core Collective Architects and SBLA Landscape Architects, to redevelop supported accommodation facilities across Tasmania.

These facilities support people living with spinal cord and acquired brain injuries (ABI) with high support needs, as well as transitional and respite accommodation for MAIB community clients. Central to the project is a co-design approach that places lived experience at the core. Residents, clients, families, staff and management have all contributed to design development through direct engagement.

To support inclusive design while maintaining privacy, the team developed fictional personas—rigorously researched, mapped, tested and evaluated with stakeholders—to represent a diverse range of users. These personas were used in workshops to roleplay a ‘day in the life’, incorporating 2D drawings, 3D models, digital prototypes and full-scale mock-ups.

This presentation highlights how these methods informed schematic design and discusses the real-world complexities of co-design from both client and design team perspectives.

Advances in cancer diagnostics and treatment are rapidly transforming the way we design healthcare spaces. At the same time, growing workforce shortages are challenging the health system’s ability to deliver effective care. This session will explore how design can respond to these dual pressures.

We will examine how new technologies—such as theranostics, oncolytics and diagnostic imaging—are shaping treatment options and influencing future planning for theatres, radiation oncology and diagnostic departments. As collaboration across disciplines becomes more critical, facilities must be designed to support integrated models of care and accommodate fast-evolving technology.

Through an overview of key trends in cancer care, we’ll explore the impact on design requirements and the importance of aligning clinical innovation with workforce capacity. We’ll also discuss how regional centres can leverage metropolitan expertise through thoughtful planning and technology-enabled models of care.

Ultimately, this session highlights how strategic design can optimise space, workforce efficiency and whole-of-life cost, while improving access to advanced cancer treatment.

The Canberra Hospital Expansion places community insight at the centre of healthcare design. The newly opened Critical Services Building—Building 5—was shaped by over 1,200 hours of consultation with patients, carers, staff and community members, influencing everything from spatial planning to coat hook placement.

The result is a state-of-the-art facility that delivers emergency, ICU, cardiac and surgical services within a warm, human-centred environment. Features like family respite lounges, sunlit terraces and carer accommodations reflect a deep understanding of real user needs.

Artworks by local and First Nations artists enrich the hospital with cultural meaning and connection to Country. This expansion shows how designing with the community leads to places of care, dignity and belonging.

How do we bridge the gap between visionary design and the realities of construction? This session brings together architects, contractors, and health clients to examine the process of translating bold ideas into built outcomes in today’s constrained environment.

The panel will consider the balance between cost, complexity, innovation, and speed – and how to maintain design integrity when navigating procurement models, compliance requirements, and construction risk.

• Which design strategies deliver measurable improvements in health outcomes?
• How can we achieve affordability without compromising on innovation?
• What tools and processes help teams deliver more sustainable, buildable outcomes?
• How is technology reshaping delivery methods and construction outcomes in healthcare?

Join us for a grounded discussion on the lessons learned from real projects – and what it takes to realise design excellence in the face of rising pressures.