Project Overview
Imaging @ Olympic Park is Medical imaging and invasive treatment centre located on the ground floor of Melbourne’s Iconic rectangular stadium
The focus of I@OP is the diagnosis and treatment of injured sports people with world leading equipment and cutting edge medical procedures.
JDA’s challenge was to design a fitout that clearly expressed our clients philosophy by a built form that set it apart from other medical facilities and was clearly a “STATE OF THE ART “ centre.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
John Douglas - Director
Alice Hobday - Interior Designer
Mark Waurich
Anthony Radl
Project Brief
To create a space that presented to the public as very different to the normal radiology centre and was in keeping with the image of the new stadium. Part of that brief was to de institutionalize the facility and to focus on the emotional experiences of both users of the facility and all visitors/patients/clients.
Contemporary medical imaging is high tech. The challenge was to still express that technology through the building whilst maintaining the de-institutionalization of the emotional experience. Clients/patients were to feel important and not to be lost in the system. The fitout was to include an appropriate way for those clients to be greeted, processed, prepared for the procedure all within a relaxed and yet professional and personal experience.
The clinical component of the facility houses MRI, CT scan, Ultra sound scan, a procedure recovery area together with support areas for changing, staff reporting and doctor work places.
Front of house includes reception and waiting, accounts department and staff amenities, with further sub waiting areas provided within the clinical areas.
Project Innovation / Need
From the initial arrival this facility is different, individual 'check in' stations replace the long and foreboding reception counter, sculptured acrylic chairs replace bus station beam seating, payment is done sitting down at a separate desk. The desire is to create a peaceful transition from the hard edged concourse of the stadium through to the clinical areas of the facility. A clear threshold is created between the public and clinical areas and is strongly designated by full height sliding glass doors adorned with an enlarged version of the corporate logo.
The use of a vertical garden and horizontal battens over white walls together with three dimensional wall paneling backdrops to the reception stations softens and enriches the quality of the space which simply glows.
Within the clinical areas sky ceilings above the MRI and CT provide a unique sight for clients lying on their back looking towards the ceiling. This sky ceiling features blue sky and white clouds seen through modulated “window frames”. The feature also provides the diffused artificial light to the procedure rooms.
This attention to detail follows through to the incorporation of the corporate logo into the floor finish which in parts climbs up into the protective wall coverings. Such detail is unexpected and helps with the de institutionalization of the space.
Design Challenge
Whilst the design brief was clearly stated and the concepts to achieve those high standards in place the real challenge for the design team was that this facility was a medical centre and is considered to be a Day Treatment Centre by the Health Authorities. The facility had to meet all of the standard department requirements both in terms of space allocation and sterility.
The layering of a client brief for something different and these rigorous standards resulted in a clear definition of spaces, the clinic area is bright clean and ordered, the public areas adopt a compatible and integrated appearance but use a different pallet of materials.
Further, the design team had to find ways of building in all of the necessary technological and building services without compromising the overall spatial experience while also being confined to the under-croft of the stadium’s grandstands.
An example is the multi-layered ceiling of the reception and waiting area organized to permit major services to pass through the space unnoticed.
Sustainability
This facility makes its contribution to the welfare of the earth by a careful selection of materials and in particular by using Forbo's Linoleum to the clinical area floors in lieu of the traditional cfc unfriendly vinyls.
However the stand out is the vertical garden which runs down one side of the reception waiting area.
The garden re oxygenates the space whilst soaking up carbon dioxide. The visual result of this profuse wall of green to the overall feel of the space is significant and sits comfortably with the original design brief.
Interior Design - Public or Institutional
This award recognises building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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