Wiltshire Swain designed the Murray Bridge Soldier Memorial Hospital Emergency Department Redevelopment with functionality and comfort in Murray Bridge, Australia.

The Murray Bridge Soldier Memorial Hospital Emergency Department Redevelopment key driver was to provoke a sense of pride within Murray Bridge. With the layout and program being strictly dictated by the operational parameters, the design team has emphasised that the Hospital is a public building that serves to strengthen the sense of community.

The design resolved existing longstanding issues by separating pedestrian, ambulance and public car access and egress. Functional relationships are programmed into the design. Secure and logical progress through the facility provides privacy and safety to staff, patients, and visitors while discrete closed treatment bays provide a high-level of privacy and balance of supervision for vulnerable patients. Connections to existing hospital facilities and units have been strengthened with improved internal wayfinding and circulation hierarchy.

It provides a prominent ‘meeting place’, that acknowledges traditional owners and preserves the integrity of the war memorial monument. The redevelopment resolves wayfinding and access, offering a plaza to be shared by the community for ANZAC day functions. Consultation with traditional owners sought references from the Ngarrindjeri nations flag acknowledged within artwork and design of the external seat, angled column and paving pattern representing 17 Laklinyeris (tribes).

Health facilities are ultimately function-led, clinical environments – but it doesn’t inhibit us from creating a building with an engaging public presence. The project provides a bespoke, state-of-the-art facility that addresses its location within the wider public realm.

Design: Wiltshire Swain
Artist: Sam Gollan
Contractor: Shape Australia
Photography: David Seivers