Flinders University’s new ‘centrepiece’ nears completion

The first building at Flinders University's proposed Flinders Village site has topped out.

The $280 million Health and Medical Research Building (HMRB), designed by Architectus, will be the centrepiece and flagship building of the Flinders Village development at the university's Bedford Park campus on Adelaide's southern outskirts.

The building is located adjacent to Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders Private Hospital and will accommodate staff and researchers of the colleges of medicine, public health, nursing and health sciences.

"Housing more than 600 basic, clinical and allied health research scientists together with data scientists and digital health experts, the 10-storey HMRB with its amazing state-of-the-art facilities provides exciting new collaborative research opportunities that will help us to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of people everywhere," said professor and Matthew Flinders Fellow Claire Roberts.

Informed by the university's Cultural Narrative and Indigenous Art Advisory Panel, the design's colours reference the natural pigments of the Kaurna Yarta coastline.

The ochre-coloured facade will also draw attention to significant Indigenous landmarks.

The building has been designed to integrate with surrounding landscape. Bush medicine plants are part of an Indigenous garden with landscaping that extends to the rest of the campus, the adjacent hospital and railway station.

"This project has been a benchmark in collaboration. Our national team of experts has engaged the community in hundreds of workshops, particularly with First Nations elders, to design a hub for innovation inspired by its place on Rainbow Country," said Architectus principal Andrew Schunke.

Flinders University's vice-chancellor said the HMRB is a "$280 million gift to the people of South Australia."

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas said, "Flinders' Health and Medical Research Building will utterly transform the south and this biomedical precinct."

The building is due to open in 2024.