Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) by McBride Charles Ryan (MCR) is a $1-billion facility for cancer research, treatment and education in Melbourne's Biomedical Precinct. The project is a joint venture by Silver Thomas Hanley, DesignInc (STHDI) and McBride Charles Ryan (MCR). MCR's role within the project was to complement the expertise of STHDI by defining the architectural intentions of the project, controlling the expression of the building and providing a response appropriate to the ambition of this endeavour. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: The brief was for a building that would welcome patients, a tranquil space that would evoke optimism and inspire hope, and a facility capable of becoming one of the top ten cancer research centres in the world. Anecdotal evidence - accounts from staff, patients and visitors - suggests that people are inspired and comforted by this environment, and that the building is acting as a change agent for better practices across the organization. In its expression of optimism and progress, the project has contributed more broadly to the development of the healthcare typology within architecture. It also demonstrates MCR's ongoing contribution to architecture that creates civic narratives as a way to provide connections with the greater community. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The VCCC received three awards at the 2016 Government Design Awards for: Best Project (top award); Commercial Architecture; and Interior Design. Organised by The Design 100 (a global community of over 75,000 design experts), the Government Design Awards celebrate design and innovation projects within the public sector. It was also a Finalist at the 2016 Premier's Design Awards (Architectural Design). The project was published in various media outlets including Architecture Australia, The Age, and Architecture and Design, amongst others.