The $66 million redevelopment of the Echuca Regional Health (ERH) Hospital delivers contemporary acute, sub-acute and ambulatory services for the regional community.
Key facilities include improved emergency services, medical imaging, inpatient accommodation, pharmacy, medical records and associated works. Delivery of this project is entirely as a BIM (Building Information Modelling) project, with dwp|suters managing the model and incorporating input from the engineering consultant and building services consultant. dwp|suters architectural proposal combines pragmatic health facility planning with a considered response to the geography and the existing built environment of Echuca.
Echuca is located at the confluence of three major rivers (Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe) and the town’s name equates with the local indigenous term for ‘meeting of the waters’. Our design takes inspiration from the theme of the three rivers as an element informing the modelling of the design’s long and crafted façade. Principal entries into the hospital, imaging and emergency departments are highlighted by elevated and coloured portions, assisting visitors in negotiating their way into and within the complex. The main entry gesture is confident yet understated, signifying progress in sustainability and providing world best practice health care services, while acknowledging local historical significance with a gentle nod to the forefather industries that shaped Echuca.
