Macquarie University Clinical Education Building

One of Australia’s youngest, yet most innovative medical faculties – Macquarie University’s Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty – has deepened its links between learning, training, research and medical practice with its new four-storey, 3400m2 timber-and-glass facade Clinical Education Building alongside the Macquarie University Hospital. The building is built between Macquarie University Hospital and 75 Talavera Road.

The building was designed by Architectus and built by Buildcorp with structural engineering by Arup. Sparks+Partners Consulting Engineers were approached by D & N Plumbing Services on behalf of Buildcorp to provide hydraulic engineering service and BIM modelling design expertise for this state of art educational facility.

The building is a representation of Macquarie University’s position as a rising star in the space of medical teaching and learning, an inviting, light and airy building that reflects the wonderful Australian bushland context that is unique to the University campus. It offers a unique opportunity to realise contemporary pedagogical teaching spaces in a beautiful purpose-built building.

The contemporary teaching and learning building houses 200-seat lecture theatre as well as 90-seat state-of-the-art Harvard-style lecture theatres and 30-seat team-based learning areas for future medicine and health sciences students at Macquarie. This project now supports the rapidly expanding requirements and popularity of courses offered by this Faculty.

The interior spaces are intended to foster a culture of transformative learning amongst academic and professional staff, promoting interprofessional enquiry-driven learning while combining clinical care, integrated teaching and research.

Adopting the same approach taken for the Incubator building, materials for this development are largely pre-fabricated and environmentally sustainable to complement the modern design that features an abundant glass exterior to allow maximum light into the narrow site. The use of pre-fabricated panels reduces overall on-site construction time and resources.

The building is intended to establish an academic health precinct, promoting collaborative engagement between education, training, research and clinical practice.

The W feature – This structural design element has been included for visual appeal and to showcase the key material used in this development – cross laminated or mass timber.

Sparks+Partners provided their knowledge ad expertise during the design phase and furnished design drawings, post construction engineering services with respect to As Builts, Block Plan, SSD and Manuals.