The Prince of Wales Hospital (PoWH) Acute Services Building (ASB) – the first stage of the Randwick Campus Redevelopment – has been recognised with a 2023 Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence Award. Project builder Lendlease won the Excellence in Construction & Site Safety Award for new health buildings over $50 million, acknowledging a range of innovative solutions that enabled the successful delivery of the new building within an established health campus and alongside four live hospitals that remained fully operational during construction. As the catalyst project for expanding the world-class health, research and education facilities within the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct, the ASB was the first major upgrade to PoWH in 25 years. Lendlease delivered purpose-designed, state-of-the-art infrastructure which supports new and innovative approaches to acute healthcare and contemporary clinical practice. During more than four and a half years of construction activity, Lendlease worked collaboratively with campus stakeholders and the project team to construct the 13-storey building and associated link bridges connecting to existing hospital buildings. This was made possible through the engineering feat of lowering a major hospital campus access road. While adding further complexity, the project also successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, with health management of the 600-strong on-site workforce critically important given the proximity to vulnerable hospital patients. The award acknowledges the project’s complexity throughout all stages of construction. This includes working in confined spaces adjacent to critical healthcare services, safety management on and around the site, and consultation with a broad spectrum of key stakeholders. For the judging panel, a standout component of the project was the significance of lowering Hospital Road – the only access to the main loading dock servicing the hospital campus. Completed in stages to maintain business continuity and minimise the impact on campus operations, the road lowering project also included the diversion of a range of key services including high voltage, sewer, stormwater, medical gas, natural gas, fire and hydraulic services, fibre optic and low voltage. Some of these services play a critical role in providing essential life safety services to the four nearby hospitals and could not be interrupted or disturbed. Precision planning and execution was required, supported by extensive consultation with campus and external stakeholders, including emergency services, to determine the most appropriate timing and duration of impacts. Construction of the building’s two link bridges connecting to the existing hospital campus required an innovative solution to address a number of challenges, including limited work windows, restrictions on material deliveries, and working at heights over a live roadway that serviced the campus loading docks. The bridges were constructed off-site in the form of oversized steel modules and installed over a period of five weekends. Connections into the existing hospital buildings involved the demolition of façade sections and management of vibration, dust and construction impacts through a range of mitigation methods, including exclusion zones to ensure safe hospital operations throughout the works. Jennie Barry, General Manager Prince of Wales Hospital, praised the Lendlease team for their management of the complex project.
Construction of the Acute Services Building alongside four hospitals and within a constrained site was set to be challenging, but Lendlease was committed from the onset, always placing the highest priority on maintaining safe adjacent hospital operations,” Ms Barry said.
“After years of consultative construction activity, the end product is a beautiful, welcoming and fit-for-purpose building which will service the community for decades to come.”
The project would not have been possible without the support of the dedicated project team, campus stakeholders, including South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Prince of Wales Hospital, Royal Hospital for Woman, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Sydney Children's Hospital, UNSW, campus suppliers and the local community. Congratulations to the Lendlease team on this well-deserved accolade, which is the result of a strong commitment to working with stakeholders to deliver the best possible outcomes for the broader community. Below: Lendlease's Acute Services Building team and colleagues receving the Master Builders Association award in November 2023.
The Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Construction Awards holds a prominent status within the industry as the premier annual event for the commercial, industrial, and civil engineering sectors. These prestigious awards serve as a platform to celebrate remarkable accomplishments by companies and individuals within the building and construction industry in NSW. For nearly three decades, numerous outstanding commercial builders in NSW have been acknowledged and honoured for their exceptional construction excellence, cementing their reputation as industry leaders.