The Hedland Health Campus in South Hedland is a comprehensive medical facility designed by Woodhead, in association with Bateman Grundmann Architects, as the ‘regional resource centre’ for the Pilbara Gascoyne Health Region.
The health campus provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient facilities including; a surgery with two operating theatres, a 40 bed ward with obstetrics, paediatrics and a high dependency unit, further imaging and emergency department, as well as treatment and consultation facilities for primary and population health.
A functional yet exciting design, the facilities architecture meets Australia’s most stringent cyclone design standards. The campus is a collection of simple yet refined structures on a low podium, connected by a glazed expansive common area. Between the buildings are a series of public accessible courtyards.
These functional elements are encircled by a large ‘rusted’ steel pergola, which wraps around the buildings completely covering the landscaped courtyards. The steel pergola will eventually be covered in foliage to shade the windows from direct sun, and facilitate the creation of a refreshing micro-climate. The pergola also provides a large canvas for the campus’s public art program.
The health facility is sensitive to the social context which services a high proportion of indigenous people, the design also achieves a distinct level of civic importance.
