Bates Smart completed the expansion of Cabrini Hospital Malvern with the Gandel Wing to better serve the people of Melbourne, Australia.

Bates Smart is celebrating the completion of its health development, the new state-of-the-art Gandel Wing at Cabrini Malvern, providing next-generation treatment in cancer, cardiac, emergency, geriatric care, infectious diseases, maternity and neurology.

The $120 million building features the latest in cutting-edge design, urban amenity and modern technology to serve the needs of patients into the future.

Rising seven storeys above ground (and four below), the new wing provides an additional 48 beds, bringing the total number of hospital beds to 556. The new building will welcome its first patients from 15 July and will be completely occupied by late-August.

Cabrini Health’s new clinical services building, located at 183 Wattletree Road in Malvern, Victoria, signifies the end of nine years of planning and development to improve health care services and continues Bates Smart’s long-standing relationship with the hospital, spanning more than 50 years.

Bates Smart Design Director, Kristen Whittle said the 16,350 sqm hospital precinct is the newest purpose-built environment of its kind with technology embedded throughout, coupled with a highly sophisticated design approach to create an environment that will become a national benchmark for patient comfort. With the completion of this latest phase, Cabrini can continue to provide an exceptional patient experience for many years to come.

The natural slatted terracotta façade complements the adjacent 60’s brickwork of original hospital, uniting the site into a harmonious and identifiable health campus. The façade carefully fans out so that the patients’ view from bed is unobstructed whilst providing screening. Each room enjoys views outwards towards nature and considered landscaped environments, cultivating a nurturing and serene atmosphere.

A critical addition to the hospital campus is the inclusion of the radiotherapy bunker, which completes the integrated cancer care model, improving the patient experience by allowing them to receive all their treatment under one roof.

Healy explains that research suggests patients accessing bathroom facilities place themselves at the greatest risk of falling. The Gandel Wing patient room design ensures direct sightlines between the bed and ensuite, together with subtle handrail lighting, which will assist in removing any ambiguity when waking in a foreign environment and increase levels of safety for the patient.

Cabrini Chief Executive Dr Michael Walsh said the Gandel Wing would allow the health service to continue to provide the best possible care for patients, and their families, well into the future.

Architect: Bates Smart
Photography: Peter Clarke