First purpose-built facility for health disciplines
Health disciplines will for the first time be co-located in the new University of Sydney Health Precinct; a purpose-built facility to translate research into education and clinical services.
The Susan Wakil Health Building will bring together multiple health disciplines for the first time in a purpose-built facility to translate research into education and clinical services.
The precinct will be located off Western Avenue on Camperdown campus, which currently houses five separate buildings including the Bosch 1A and 1B Buildings, the Bosch Glasshouse, the Blackburn Building and the associated Dangerous Goods Store.
The Susan Wakil Health Building will co-locate the faculties of Nursing and Midwifery and Health Sciences, with components of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry. It will provide state of the art clinical simulation programs and a multi-service clinic, as well as flexible infrastructure that supports team-based research programs.
Health Precinct Stage 1 Building – Decanting and Relocation Plan
About the new Health Precinct
The building has been designed to be agile for multidisciplinary teaching and learning across all health faculties and a place of collaborative research.
It will cover an area of 21,198 square metres and be a maximum of 8 storeys high. It will see state-of-the-art clinical simulation programs and a multi-service clinic combined with a 350-seat lecture theatre, a rehabilitation gym as well as office, teaching, research, clinical and support spaces.
The heart of the structure will be the Upper Wakil Garden on level 3 - designed to be a respite midway through the building. Outdoor commons will flow out onto the pathways that connect the building to the campus beyond.
Green space will surround the building, with the Oval to the north, Wesley College to the east, and St. Andrew’s College oval to the south.
The building will have an abundance of natural light due to a carve on the north side that draws daylight while terraces provide access to outdoor space and fresh air for lower classrooms, middle clinical and research spaces and upper offices.
The $35m gift that made the Health Precinct possible
This major architectural development has been made possible due to a $35 million donation from the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation. The Wakils’ gift is the largest donation to the University of Sydney since it was founded in 1850.
“We were inspired by the radical and innovative approach the University of Sydney is taking to address immediate and future healthcare challenges,’’ Mr Wakil said. “Susan and I are pleased to be able to make this project a reality.”
The architects for the design are Australia's Billard Leece Partnership (BLP) and New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro.