Victorian Heart Hospital

The Victorian Heart Hospital, located on Monash University’s Clayton campus in the centre of the Monash Technology Precinct, is a project of collaborative vision and effort. Led by the Victorian Health Building Authority, with project partners Monash Health and Monash University, this internationally significant facility is Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital, the only of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The VHH has a clear agenda – the overlap of learning, teaching and research with clinical activities to foster a remarkable degree of collaboration. Strong vertical linkages between research and clinical levels encourage cross fertilization between Monash Health and its research programs with Monash University. With specialist facilities for the local community and state-wide services available, the VHH is home to the Victorian Heart Institute, the Monash Cardiovascular Research Centre and Monash Health’s Training, Education and Research programs. A building for people: As a place of work and treatment the design contributes to the wellbeing of patients, clinicians and staff and aids patient recovery through its spatial qualities, amenity and materiality. Natural light permeates through the building, softening and calming the interior. An open central courtyard provides a landscaped space for viewing and occupying, imparting the visual relief of nature which is evident throughout. The hospital is organized by three distinct uses – public, research and clinical which are linked by a rational network of passageways to departments and outdoor spaces. The public spaces follow the building’s radial geometry, embracing the garden and punctuating the otherwise rectilinear planning activating and connecting the community of VHH for recuperative rest, respite or daily walk. A range of forms, colours and finishes imbue the exterior with a robust, civic appearance that strives to be welcoming and reassuring. Weathered steel and terracotta tiles blend into the adjacent parkland landscape. Folded vertically, the steel finds a natural rhythm, a pattern that draws together a series of spaces into a coherent whole. Perforated façade screens mitigate the heat load, reduce glare and allow views out. This high performing envelope contributes positively to the thermal comfort of the occupants and is a key component of the project’s passive design approach. The relationship to and reinforcement of landscape is a significant part of the experience at the hospital. The interiors similarly focus on creating environments conducive to wellbeing by using a familiar material palette. Timber is used principally in the public spaces, to amplify those connections. Variation is employed with pattern, colour and finish to offer stimulation. This reflects organic forms in nature known to enhance small moments in our day.