Royal Rehabilitation Centre
Ryde, Sydney
In 2007 Bates Smart won an invited architectural competition to design the new Royal Rehabilitation Centre in Ryde, Sydney.
The new Rehabilitation Centre is to be constructed on a 20 000sqm parcel of land located in the south-east corner of the existing Royal Rehabilitation site.
RRCS’ desire is for the new facility to be non-institutional in character, connected with the adjacent landscape, flexible and adaptable, highly accessible and to work with the site’s topography.
The design concept highlights the importance of providing an interim step between hospital and home for patients requiring rehabilitation.
The new centre will be comprised of low-scale buildings with slender floor plates to maximise natural light. A central circulation spine linking Morrison Road to the recreation circle creates a legible internal connection between departments for patients and visitors. The lower ground level is designed to be highly permeable with a series of external courtyards and provides an at-grade connection between main entry and the recreation circle to maximise ease of patient use and embrace the adjoining community.
The centre will contain spinal and neurological rehabilitation facilities as well as therapy, pool, outpatient areas and public facilities, such as a cafe, library and conference rooms. It will also contain accommodation for professional suites, retail as well as centre administration, learning, development and research facilities.
A high dependency patient care facility will also be included which consists of 2 small residential dwellings to the Northeast of the site. These buildings, known as the Weemala precinct, will contain a total of 32 beds with a mix of 1, 2 & 4 bedroom apartments.
The new Rehabilitation Centre is to be constructed on a 20 000sqm parcel of land located in the south-east corner of the existing Royal Rehabilitation site.
RRCS’ desire is for the new facility to be non-institutional in character, connected with the adjacent landscape, flexible and adaptable, highly accessible and to work with the site’s topography.
The design concept highlights the importance of providing an interim step between hospital and home for patients requiring rehabilitation.
The new centre will be comprised of low-scale buildings with slender floor plates to maximise natural light. A central circulation spine linking Morrison Road to the recreation circle creates a legible internal connection between departments for patients and visitors. The lower ground level is designed to be highly permeable with a series of external courtyards and provides an at-grade connection between main entry and the recreation circle to maximise ease of patient use and embrace the adjoining community.
The centre will contain spinal and neurological rehabilitation facilities as well as therapy, pool, outpatient areas and public facilities, such as a cafe, library and conference rooms. It will also contain accommodation for professional suites, retail as well as centre administration, learning, development and research facilities.
A high dependency patient care facility will also be included which consists of 2 small residential dwellings to the Northeast of the site. These buildings, known as the Weemala precinct, will contain a total of 32 beds with a mix of 1, 2 & 4 bedroom apartments.
