The surrounding parkland environment
The surrounding parkland environment - The new Royal Children's Hospital project
| How does the new RCH integrate with Royal Park? |
| Integration with Royal Park helps to ensure the new RCH is a healing hospital in a healing environment. Inspired by its unique setting within Royal Park, the new RCH is a hospital in a park and a park in a hospital. Research demonstrates that park environments provide a powerful force to help the morale of children and their families, and assist the healing process. Courtyards, terraces and gardens give children and families easy access to the healing parkland environment. Eighty per cent of patient rooms have views of the park, and corridors and lifts also feature views to nature. There is no boundary fencing or restrictive landscaping, allowing the new hospital to blend seamlessly with the park. This integration is better for patients, families and staff and also minimises the hospital’s physical and aesthetic impact on the park. The building’s external façade was designed with the park environment and reflects shapes and colours from the surrounding parkland. Glazed sun shading has ‘natural leaf elements’ that reflect the vegetation of Royal Park and, unlike the existing hospital designed in the 1950s, the new building takes full advantage of its location. |
| Will the planting design around the new hospital be done according to the Royal Park Masterplan? |
| Yes. The parkland both inside and outside the 4.1 ha hospital site boundary will maintain the integrity of Royal Park landscape character generally, with the use of native trees and groundcover plants. The design of the parkland to be reinstated over the existing hospital site will be developed in conjunction with Melbourne City Council, and with input from the community. |
| Will there be a vegetation and visual demarcation between the new hospital and the park? |
| The design has been created to provide a gradual visual demarcation between the RCH site and Royal Park. This has generally been achieved by the use of contours, with appropriate landform and plant types. For example, areas planted with trees, tufting and hedging plants will provide some natural demarcation between the hospital grounds and the adjacent parkland. |
| Will there be paths and / or service roads on the perimeter of the new RCH in Royal Park? |
| Primary access to the site is achieved via a number of entrance points along Flemington Road. Should an emergency situation arise requiring access to the rear of the site, emergency vehicles may elect to access the new site via Royal Park. This has been the case for a number of years and is not a new process. |
| How big will the finished new RCH site be? |
| The RCH (Land) Act requires the Minister for Health to ensure that the final site of the new hospital is less than 4.1 hectares, the approximate size of the existing hospital site. The winning design was developed within these constraints. There will be no nett reduction of parkland in Royal Park as a result of this project or the Act. |
| What happens to the existing RCH buildings? |
| Most of the buildings on the existing site will be demolished and the land revegetated and reinstated as parkland. The recently completed Research Precinct Building and the Front Entry Building will be retained. |
| How can we be sure the government will return the construction site to parkland? |
| The Royal Children's Hospital (Land) Act enshrines the Government’s commitment that there will not be any net loss of parkland as a result of building the new hospital in Royal Park. The Act states that: |
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| Who is responsible for converting the surplus project land and old hospital site into parkland? |
| The Victorian State Government is responsible for the reinstatement of these areas to Royal Park. The concept design for the reinstatement will incorporate a new gateway to Royal Park, and will be a collaborative effort involving stakeholder views, including Melbourne City Council (as the future park manager) and the local community. Visit www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/returntoroyalpark to find out more about the parkland reinstatment process. |
| Why is there a mound of soil at the rear of the hospital? |
| The soil is part of the material excavated to make way for the Stage 1 underground carpark. It will be reused as part of the reinstatement of Royal Park once the old hospital is demolished. The retention and re-use of this soil has significant benefits in terms of reducing wastage and reducing the number of truck movements (and emissions, noise and dust) which would otherwise have been required to remove the soil, and then transport new soil into the area for the parkland reinstatement. |
| Could future expansion of the hospital encroach on Royal Park? |
| No. Any future expansion of the hospital must remain within the legislated 4.1 ha site boundary. |
