Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre

Low-carbon structural solution for rural community’s consolidated cancer treatment facility.

Location

New South Wales, Australia

Client

Albury Wodonga Health and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services

Architect

Billard Leece Partnership

Project Status

Completed in 2018

The $52m Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre was built to bring the best cancer treatment and care to the border of New South Wales and Victoria. Constructed on the grounds of an existing hospital, it consolidated disparate cancer services under one roof, creating a single destination for diagnosis, support, education, research and treatment. It also eliminated the need for people to travel long distances for such facilities.

WSP provided structural and civil engineering services for the 7,700m² building. It comprises 30 inpatient beds set around two internal courtyards, a chemotherapy ward with space for 30 patients, two paediatric treatment chairs, three radiotherapy bunkers, a brachytherapy service, 17 medical and allied health consulting rooms, a pharmacy and a wellness centre. There is also a bridge linking the new centre to the old hospital.

Our precast construction method for the radiotherapy bunkers sped up construction by a number of months.

Barry Roben, principal director, WSP in Australia

The most distinctive feature of the structural design is the use of “Bubbledeck” floor slabs. It was the first hospital in Australia to adopt this system. The patented technology reduces the amount of concrete in the building structure by 30%, replacing it with ball-shaped voids surrounded by recycled plastic. The slab remains flat and stiff, but less energy is used, and less carbon is emitted in its construction. It is also thinner and lighter than a concrete slab, creating more room for conduits and cooling fixtures – particularly crucial in a hospital that will be refurbished several times over its life cycle. Each slab is 340mm thick and spans up to 9m.

The innovative floor slabs were prefabricated off site, speeding up the construction process and eliminating the need for formwork. On-site activities simply involved installing the floor panels and the remaining 10% of reinforcement. Precast concrete elements were also used to build the radiotherapy bunkers, reducing the construction period by several months and removing the need for formwork and temporary works to support large-volume concrete pours.

We are now designing a $23m expansion to the emergency department of the hospital.