Work Winds Up on SA’s $500m Medical Research Facility

A $500-million medical research facility in Adelaide has reached practical completion.

The Australian Bragg Centre in the South Australian capital’s BioMed City precinct will house Australia’s first proton therapy unit, putting ground-breaking cancer treatment in Adelaide another important step closer, according to Commercial & General, the developer of the project.

The purpose-built 15-storey biomedical development will also be home to leading cancer researchers, clinicians and the SA government’s Department for Health and Wellbeing teams.

The building has 33,000sq m total floor area across 15 levels with 11 floors of dry lab space.

Construction of the centre by Lendlease involved the removal of 66,000 tonnes of earth and the pouring of 7000sq m of shielding concrete across 29 separate concrete pours with 281 panels, 121 tonnes of embedded steel shielding plates and three individual shielding doors weighing about 220 tonnes in total.

Commercial & General said it had engaged specialist consultants from Australia, Europe and the US to ensure construction of the bunker that houses the proton therapy unit met the specific tolerances required of the technology, including radiation shielding and vibration minimisation.

When fully operation, the proton therapy unit will have the ability to treat about 600 to 700 patients a year.

The centre is being funded through a public-private partnership including SAHMRI, Commercial & General, Dexus, and the federal and SA governments.

Commercial & General also delivered Calvary Adelaide Hospital—the largest private hospital in South Australia, amongst other health projects.

The developer—one of SA’s most substantial—has a project portfolio in excess of $2 billion in end value.