June 9, 2017

Featured in the June AIRAH (Ecolibrium) magazine, ‘Gold-standard Healthcare’, Sean McGowan looks at the new $630 million, state-of-the-art Bendigo Hospital.

The new facility accommodates 372 inpatient beds, 72 same-day beds, 11 new operating theatres, an integrated cancer centre and an 80-bed psychiatry services facility – making it around 60 per cent larger than its predecessor.

The public–private partnership (PPP) delivery model saw A.G. Coombs, as specialist contractor and consultants NDY work closely through design and construction for the mechanical, HVAC and central energy systems. A.G. Coombs in conjunction with local Bendigo area alliance partners, including McCaig Air Conditioning, delivered these systems as part of the Lend Lease design and construction team.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) was used to comprehensively model the facility. This significantly helped streamline manufacturing, systems coordination and installation processes.

The installation included around 35,000 pieces or 40 kilometres of ductwork, over 800 air-conditioning and ventilation fans, over 130 air handling units and fan coil units, and approximately five kilometres of pipework. 40 kilometres of wire hanging cable be used to support ductwork and cushion heads and light weight services to meet a seismic restraint standard, and around 6,000 air grilles supply and extract air within the hospital.

Prefabrication was incorporated into the services design from very early in the bid phase, which proved itself to be invaluable in terms of quality, program and safety, and particularly given the project’s regional location. “A total of 50 vertical services risers and over 300 horizontal modules containing multiple services were installed”, says Mark Mitchell, General Manager, A.G. Coombs Projects.

As part of the vision for the hospital to be sustainable, energy-efficient and future-ready, a new gas-powered tri-generation system supply low Carbon electrical power, heating and cooling to the entire building. Rooftop adiabatic coolers, in place of standard cooling towers, will help with reducing water consumption, as well as mitigating the risk of Legionella through the use of a closed loop heat rejection system.

The new Bendigo Hospital reached completion in late 2016 officially handed over to Bendigo Health on January 24.

Read the full Ecolibrium article here.

For more information on Ecolibrium (the official journal of AIRAH) visit the AIRAH website here.

New Bendigo Hospital