The Warren & Mahoney designed hospital reaches new levels of patient comfort with a design that is warm and relaxing.
Southern Cross Central Lakes is a multi-award winning hospital offering access to elective surgery for nearby residents who are able to remain close to their family during recovery. Patients undergoing gynaecological, plastic, and general surgery, can recover in a hotel-like environment that’s naturally ventilated, taking advantage of the reinvigoratingly fresh alpine air.
That environment is imbued with a sense of calm from the extensive use of wooden joinery, which exudes a natural, relaxing warmth. Curved surfaces and gentle angles soften the aesthetic, effectively cushioning the environment and encouraging patients to let go of any anxieties. The patient journey has been carefully considered, with the well-appointed facilities intentionally designed to be more closely associated with that of smaller-scale residential architecture than large clinical, sanitised hospital design.
Central to this unique sense of calm is joinery that’s more luxury than utilitarian. For example, we crafted headboards to house medical services, removing reminders of the reason for staying from plain sight. Timber screens introduce warmth as opposed to clinical separation, and banquette seating is more reminiscent of high-end hospitality than hospital waiting rooms.
Featuring elsewhere in the hospital is theatre joinery as precise as the procedures taking place nearby, curving reception desks that welcome, and an assortment of cabinetry in administration areas and offices. There’s also kitchen and kitchenette joinery, nurse stations, and lockers for the Doctors and nurses. All was crafted to promote the very same sense of calm that permeates the building, effectively detaching the sense of the building from the real purpose of the building. It’s a clever trick by the architects, and we’re pleased to have been able to craft and install all of the joinery that brings their architectural intent to life.
Awards: 2022 NZIA Southern Award - Public Architecture
2022 Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Awards - Gold Pin
Builder: Sanderson Group
Architect: Warren & Mahoney