Local spirit: new Footscray Hospital, Melbourne

The new Footscray Hospital, currently under construction in Melbourne’s west, is partly a result of local community campaigning, leading to it being affectionately referred to as “the People’s Hospital” — a genesis woven into its design.

Melbourne’s new Footscray Hospital — now rising on the corner of Geelong and Ballarat Roads — is a tertiary hospital with a design ethos encapsulating the spirit and dedication of the local populace who helped create it; being both in and of its community.

Courtesy COX

A design collaboration between COX and Billard Leece Partnership, rather than a single monolithic structure, the campus-sized precinct consists of five buildings that surround a central village green, with pedestrian connections into and through the site. Its central green space works as a focal point, inviting the community in.

Courtesy COX

This more than $1.5 billion health infrastructure project is among Victoria’s largest ever. With an increase of almost 200 beds, the new hospital will treat approximately 15,000 additional patients and enable around 20,000 additional people to be seen by the emergency department each year.

Courtesy COX

The hospital’s human-centred design means that every step of the patient journey has been considered from the perspective of reducing stress, utilising views of nature to support orientation and wayfinding. Immersion in external spaces through the many departments of the hospital enables a retreat for patients, families and healthcare staff.

Courtesy COX

Buildings are scaled to suit the site and massed to encourage sunlight penetration and provide wind protection to outdoor amenity. Functional beyond its pragmatic requirements, it blurs the traditional boundaries between healthcare facilities and community wellness spaces — being a new type of hospital, in and of its place.

Courtesy COX

Highly Commended in the Future Projects — Health category of the 2024 World Architecture Festival Awards, the new Footscray Hospital will be a major piece of placemaking — where the community it will serve, and its spirit, has been built into its design. On track for completion late this year, you can learn more about the project at www.vhba.vic.gov.au/health/hospitals/new-footscray-hospital.

Top image: courtesy COX