St Vincent's substantial expansion plans unveiled
With links onsite that span back to the 1890's, St Vincent's Private Hospital is now pursuing a new phase of expansion in order to keep pace with Melbourne's growing population.
St Vincent's Private is now considered at capacity, with plans afoot to create an 11 storey building across 59-61 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy. With the development's anticipated construction cost approaching $60 million, the overall value of the expansion weighs in at $94 million.
Included in the proposal before City of Yarra is provision for new consulting suites, 91 new multi-day beds for patients, 12 new same-day beds, additional operating rooms and pre/post operation stations.
Set above a new podium to both Victoria Parade and Brunswick Street, the building's overall height is pencilled in at 43.36 metres.
A need for expansion
It is now vital for St Vincent's Health Australia to undertake a major expansion project at this flagship private hospital, including an additional 91 net beds and eight (8) operating theatres, to ensure that it will have the capacity to meet future demand and compete within key market segments. No major footprint expansion of SVPHF has occurred over the past 44 years.
Frequently during the working week SVPHF faces 'bed block' and non-elective or urgent private patients are redirected to other hospitals. In addition all private consulting suite space at SVPHF is fully occupied. Additional private consulting rooms and theatres are vital to the future of SVPHF and improved healthcare to the community.
Planning report, Meinhardt
To facilitate the proposed expansion, demolition is required across a number of sensitive buildings.
The existing hospital at 59-61 Victoria Parade would partially make way for the new development, as would 77 Victoria Parade, a.k.a. the former Eastern Hill Hotel. The latter is on the Victorian Heritage Register, with the development team seeking removal of its western wing to the rear of the building.
Partial demolition of Edensor House is also proposed, and mainly confined to the Victorian Heritage Register-listed building's rear. Full demolition is sought for 63-71 Victoria Parade (the former Easthill House), with the building considered to be Individually Significant from a heritage perspective.
Building design
Shades of natural and midnight copper cladding would provide the design highlight over the east and north facades, with the balance a clad consisting of compressed fibre cement sheet cladding in a banded finish.
The southern facade is predominantly glazed, with elements of purple, charcoal and white, and its angular nature suggesting that it lends in some small way from the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre which was completed earlier in 2016.
The proposed new building complements the existing building in terms of height and form but contrasts in colour and material to express it as a contemporary insertion into the existing fabric. Together the existing and the new hospital form a pair of buildings that create a distinct identity to the hospital and an appropriate backdrop to the scale of St. Vincent's plaza.
The proposed podium facade along Victoria Pde complements the fenestration of both the three storey heritage building as well as the existing hospital podium and acts as a transition element in terms of both distribution of openings as well as parapet height
The proposed materiality of the podium responds to both the glazed brickwork of existing hospital and the painted and render brick facade of the East Hill Hotel by utilising a porcelain stone clad finish to complement the existing heavy materiality of the streetscape
Urban context report, Billard Leece Partnership
Also in the works is an expansion of the existing multi-storey car park at 93-99 Victoria Parade.
Of more interest from a design perspective than in terms of what benefits it could provide to the larger community, an expansion would see the already colourful structure capped with three new levels of parking. 185 additional car parking spaces would be added if approved.
The new levels would be finished in metal screens, accentuated by rectangular openings featuring small planter boxes.
The design intention is to mimic balconies of an apartment building making reference to the many examples in Melbourne of residential and commercial spaces sitting on top of multi deck carparks. The screen consists of closely spaced vertical steel angles powder coated in multiple colours. The colours ranges change as the screen presents itself to different solar orientations.
Urban context report, Billard Leece Partnership
