First piece of “new” Adelaide in place
The first piece of major infrastructure in the multi-billion-dollar revamp of Adelaide’s CBD is in place from today, with the formal opening of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute building.
The distinctive building, opened today by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Premier Jay Weatherill, is the first of a series of new projects in the Riverbank precinct to be completed.
The SAHMRI is also the first piece of the $3 billion health and biomedical precinct on North Terrace, and will be followed by new buildings for the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and the new Royal Adelaide hospital.
A second SAHMRI research building will also be built in the area in the next five years.
Abbott acknowledged the provision of funds for the $200 million facility by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard but said considering the work that would be done in the new centre, it was not something that belonged to one side of politics or the other.
You might like
“In the end it doesn’t even belong to Adelaide or to South Australia,” Abbott said.
“It belongs to humanity because all of humanity will benefit from the work that is done in this building.”
Weatherill today announced an additional $15 million in funding for SAHMRI, which he described as “a symbol of our ambitions for South Australia”.
Stay informed, daily
The $200 million building will house more than 600 scientists and medical researchers working on research themes including cancer, heart health, health mothers, babies and children, infection and nutrition.
Key facts: the SAHMRI building
Size: 25,000 square metres
Engineering: The facade is made up of 6,290 triangular glass panels. Fabrication of the facade took five months, and construction six months.
Energy efficiency: Gold rating; rainwater harvesting and reuse of processed water; intelligent metering providing real-time measurement of energy and water consumption.
Laboratories: Nine “wet and dry” laboratory modules
Research themes: Aboriginal health; cancer; healthy mothers, babies and children; heart health; infection and immunity; mind and brain; nutrition and metabolism.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
