About the project
Conrad Gargett was commissioned to redevelop the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in 2014, expanding the facility to accommodate over 500 people, integrate the complex demands of contemporary research buildings, and support the Institute’s future needs.
The new design considers its context and setting, building on the cellular arrangement of the existing design with each stage growing a new cell or laboratory block. Layered over the plan are facade patterning systems evolving from DNA sequencing and a graphic representation of the CMRI logo. An atrium above the previous hub provides a new collaborative focus for the development, facilitating informal and formal institute functions.
The building and its services are designed to meet and exceed ‘best practice’ principles of environmentally sustainable design (ESD) to minimise the carbon footprint, energy use and water consumption.
These systems will deliver in the order of 20% energy savings compared to conventional ‘business as usual’ building services installations.
The project is currently under construction. After completion of Phase 1, CMRI’s research capacity has doubled.
