HMRB UPDATE

DECEMBER 2023
Welcome to the latest news about Flinders University’s
Health and Medical Research Building (HMRB).

In this issue we provide an update on construction, share a personal journey from researcher to Senior Project Manager, showcase Indigenous connections across every floor, and examine the HMRB's wellbeing, green building and digital connectivity features.

The Health and Medical Research Building (HMRB) will be an outstanding biomedical research facility for southern Adelaide and the centrepiece of the Flinders Village development. Providing a catalyst for investment in the south, HMRB is creating 750 construction-related jobs over 2.5 years and, once complete, will be part of a 
20,000-strong employment hub and the base for more than 600 people.

With a focus on collaboration, HMRB will bring together researchers, healthcare and industry partners to translate world-class research into better outcomes for our community. HMRB is Flinders University's investment in future healthcare that will change lives and change the world.

Construction update

Since the last update in mid 2023, we've made significant progress and achieved several construction milestones, including:

• Installation of façade panels has been completed
• Specialised medical research equipment continues to be installed
• Furniture is being progressively added across levels 3 to 5 
• Electrical connections have been completed and power points and light switches are now installed across levels 3 to 9, so lights are on and power is available!
• Installation of tapware has commenced on level 9 and partitions to the wet labs are completed
• Commissioning activities to critical building infrastructure are continuing on levels 3 to 6
• Fabrication of the foyer artwork is underway
• University Drive pedestrian crossing has been completed.

Steps to the level 2 main entrance (western side) are under construction.

Clinical space waiting area on the northern side (left) and desks and view of FMC on the southern side of level 3 (right).

Level 4 and 5 wet labs.

What's next?

For our precinct and university neighbours, here’s a snapshot of our upcoming planned activity:

• Final kerbing, safety barriers, footpath surfacing, retaining wall and landscaping works. Information about road closures and diversions, and a temporary change to the Station Express loop bus was communicated earlier this week.
• Level 1 glazing at the entrance.
• Interior works continue across all floors to fit out collaborative office spaces and labs and install equipment and furniture.  

We extend a huge thank you to our precinct partners who continue to work with us to manage roadworks on Service Road, Sports Road and University Drive.

Timelapse July to November 2023

Personal journey comes full circle

Tina Schultz, budding scientist, in the early 2000s (left) and now as Senior Project Manager of HMRB (right) during construction.

Tina Schultz began her journey with Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre in the late 1990s with a Bachelor of Biotechnology, studying drug resistance in neuroblastoma during her Honours year.

Tina worked at various universities for 10 years as a research scientist, then realised the ‘grant writing pathway’ as an academic with a PhD was not for her. “However, I knew I wanted to stay in a technical field, but not necessarily working at the lab bench anymore,” she said.

Project management and technical skills merge
Tina developed her business and technical skills, working for several years as a project manager in a contract research organisation running pre-clinical drug trials. In 2013, she saw an opportunity for her technical and project management skills to merge and joined the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) project team. 

“My lab and technical experience got the technical side of the (SAHMRI) building off the ground, ensuring researchers had the core facilities and equipment they needed,” Tina said.

Back to Flinders
In 2022, Tina returned to Flinders University, this time as the Senior Project Manager of the HMRB within Property, Facilities and Development.

“Who would’ve thought when I graduated in 2001, that my Biotech studies would lead to this!?” 

“It’s a lovely personal journey. I feel a real sense of purpose and excitement to be able to deliver such a significant building for Flinders’ researchers,” Tina said.

Connection to Country across every floor

Rainbow sands at Maslin Beach - photo courtesy of Uncle Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien (left) and corresponding colours in the carpet and eastern façade artwork by James Tylor on level 4 (right).

The goal to embed meaning into the HMRB’s exterior and interior design has been realised!

Acting as a reminder of the value of Indigenous knowledge and connection to Country, artwork has been finalised on the building’s exterior and colour schemes across each floor's interior design have now been installed.

Themes take inspiration from Rainbow Yarta, the rainbow-coloured sand dunes along our coastline, that provided shelter and community for Kaurna people, and rainbows in the sky which are all shifting and moving and always becoming.

The building incorporates the significance of double rainbows representing the Kaurna way of knowing duality and the rainbow sands representing the past and making sense of the place on Country.

Desks, blinds, carpet and door handles on level 3.

Office space and labs on level 7 (left) and level 6 (right).

Earthy tones in the kitchen and bathrooms on level 3.

Exceptional standards of wellbeing, green building
and digital connectivity 

The design and construction of the HMRB has achieved a world first Platinum WiredScore rating and is on schedule to achieve Gold rating under LEED and WELL rating tools. It is recognition of our commitment to the health and wellbeing of researchers and the future of our planet. 

Platinum WiredScore Certification 

The HMRB is the first medical research facility in the world to achieve platinum level endorsement under the WiredScore Certification, confirming its best-in-class digital connectivity. In particular, the HMRB areas recognised included:

• Reliable, rapid and best-in-class levels of digital connectivity, including in labs 
• Business continuity consistently at 100%
• Secure, reliable site-wide digital infrastructure
• High-speed internet service
• Capacity for technological growth 
• In-building mobile performance
• Resilience
• Telecommunications spaces, sizing, access and protection.

The highest rating, Platinum indicates that a building meets exceptional standards for the quality of its wired infrastructure, resilience and wireless network.  

Read more about WiredScore. 

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification

Recognised as an industry benchmark for resourceful and efficient energy consumption, LEED certification is an internationally recognised ‘green building’ program, during design, building and operations. The HMRB's 'Gold' standard green qualities include:

• The building’s passive design with orientation to reduce heat load
• Façade glazing that rejects 75% of heat from the sun
• Façade temperature and moisture sensors that open/close louvres between the panels (as pictured, below) to control fresh air flow
• 100% renewable electricity, generated by campus photovoltaic solar systems and boosted by wind power.

Buildings with LEED certification have improved performance across energy usage, water efficiency, indoor environment quality, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and are sensitive towards environmental impacts and how resources are managed.

Gold WELL Certification

The development is also aiming to receive WELL Gold certification for its features and strategies within the 10 WELL concepts of air, water, thermal comfort, light, movement, nourishment, sound, mind, community and materials. The HMRB's 'Gold' standard wellbeing features will include:

• Healthy food offerings
• Open indoor spaces with greenery
• The Indigenous bush medicine garden
• Proximity to Flinders railway station as an incentive to use public transport
• Internal staircase to promote walking instead of taking lifts (see staircase below, during construction)
• Dedicated end of trip facilities and bike storage to promote riding to work or exercising during lunchbreaks
• Natural daylight throughout.

Support the HMRB 

The HMRB is all about preventing and treating disease through collaboration - between researchers, industry, healthcare professionals and the community. We know that when we come together for a common goal, we can achieve great things and transform lives.

That's why we're reaching out to our Flinders community – please join us to support the vital research that will take place within HMRB, so that our researchers can change lives and change the world.

If you were forwarded this email and would like to subscribe for further updates, please email HMRB@flinders.edu.au