Designed to double as a clinic and a place where the Aboriginal community could meet and socialize, a small community clinic in the Australian outback won Best Sustainable Development of the Year at the LEAF Awards.
Kaunitz Yeung Architecture designed the building for a medium-sized Aboriginal community. The firm responded to a brief from Ngaanyatjarra Health Service, a community organisation with an indigenous board, which requested a clinic that was budget sensitive.
The architects designed the clinic with input from the community to make the structure appropriate to the place and culture. The result is local stonewalls and art screens, integrating the building into the landscape by referencing regional flora.
The building has a north-facing orientation, an entrycanopy, art shade screens, and efficient building insulation to ensure optimal thermal performance.
The clinic’s construction came under budget even with the inclusion of a two-chair dialysis unit to help address the lost kidney function in people with kidney failure.
Images via Kaunitz Yeung and Brett Boardman.
