The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) is Australia’s premier, biomedical engineering research centre. Commissioned by St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, the 11-storey centre, which is currently under construction, is uniquely positioned at the hospital’s Fitzroy campus.

The ACMD brings together eight partner organisations including universities, research institutes and a tertiary hospital. Focussing on research driven by clinical need, it addresses today’s healthcare challenges through innovations in medtech, biotech and digital health to improve treatment, diagnosis and prevention.

Our multidisciplinary team collaborated with architects from Denton Corker Marshall (DCM) on the structural design of the building to ensure the vibration criteria required for the laboratories’ highly sensitive equipment was met.

We engineered the façade, made up of large articulated glass panels, to allow natural daylight to infiltrate the building. The central 10-storey atrium opens the interior space to promote connectivity and collaboration among staff, researchers, clinicians, students, engineers and scientists.

The ACMD’s new 16,500sqm home will help it to accelerate innovation and facilitate collaboration. The ACMD will be a catalyst for medical discoveries and position Australia as a global leader in biomedical engineering.

With a carefully considered design that encourages and supports collaboration and innovation, the new ACMD building is set to be a prominent Melbourne landmark and a global influencer.

Andrew Crettenden

ACMD Project Director

Structural engineering

With sensitive laboratory equipment comes specific vibration criteria. Our team conducted studies including analysis plots based on different slab depths. The findings illustrated to the client and stakeholders that vibration criteria could still be met in areas where the sensitive equipment was located with a reduced slab thickness.

The structural solution to address vibration criteria for sensitive equipment included installation of steel posts for vibration control. These posts were strategically placed to integrate with the laboratory furniture designed by DCM.

Our structural team liaised with end users to understand their specific needs when working in lab spaces. We considered all aspects of the design brief to find the best solution for the highly sensitive equipment, while bringing innovation to the project. Our design approach led to significant concrete and cost savings, compared to the original brief, cutting 50mm from the slab thickness which equals 75m3 of concrete per floor.

Our previous work within St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s Fitzroy campus gave our team an in-depth understanding of how the new building interacted with adjacent buildings on the site.

This project is a testimony to what can be achieved when architects and engineers come together to accelerate innovation and facilitate collaboration.

Wojciech Pluta

Senior Director, Denton Corker Marshall

Façade engineering and design

DCM’s vision for the building’s façade provided a point of difference, with glazing protruding from the plane of the façade and tilting at various angles for eye-catching impact. Differing significantly 

from the standard flat curtain wall design seen on most city buildings, this created additional challenges to overcome including structural integrity, wind protection and drainage.

Staircase inside Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery

We engineered the façade, made up of large articulated glass panels, to allow natural daylight to infiltrate the building. © St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne

Our team produced a performance-based design, reimagining the typical curtain wall to realise DCM’s proposed three-dimensional pixellated façade. We workshopped different design possibilities with DCM, resolving thermal performance, drainage, watertightness and glazing quality to bring their vision to life.

We designed a standardised flat curtain wall, whereby articulated panels could be fixed to the face (angled in different directions) to the base frame. This approach allowed DCM creative freedom to alter the protruding geometry and materials, and pattern to match their vision for the aesthetic design, while also creating efficiencies in streamlining the construction process.