The Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Tony Abbott, officially opened the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, a state-of-the-art research facility based in Perth’s existing QEII hospital campus in Nedlands today.
The multimillion dollar specialist hospital is set to accommodate the highest international standards of scientific research and has required meticulous structural, façade, fire and geotechnical engineering, provided by Arup.
Alistair Avern-Taplin, Arup’s Project Director for the project, says more than a dozen Perth-based specialist engineers, together with colleagues from elsewhere in Australia and also the UK, were engaged to ensure the new Institute’s engineering embraced and exceeded best practice guidelines.
“The complexity of the structure required specialist engineering skills and the procurement of innovative solutions to ensure the quality of the design was honoured. The end result for this 5 Star rated facility speak for itself.
Alistair Avern-Taplin, Principal, Arup Australasia
Initially appointed to the project in 2009, the Arup team employed 3D modelling to integrate Hames Sharley’s architectural drawings with their own engineering specifications – technology that was only being rolled out five years ago.
Arup’s team also included a number of specialists in fire, façade and structural engineers. In particular, engineers experienced in structural vibration, given the nature of the laboratory equipment set to be housed in the building, including MRI scanning equipment and precision microscopes, which are sensitive to even slight movement – even staff members walking on above floors.
The facility will be home to research bodies including The University of Western Australia, Lions Eye Institute, Heart Research Institute, Lung Institute of WA and Keogh Institute.
Following its success with the project, Arup has been appointed to provide structural, facade and fire engineering consultancy services for the design of a second building on the Fiona Stanley Hospital Site in Murdoch. This facility will investigate the genetic and environmental causes of a range of diseases.