To ‘do no harm' is the concept that guides the design of The Melbourne Recovery Centre. It is a building that serves to protect. To protect the patient, to protect its staff and families, to protect the community, and importantly to protect the planet.

Responding to its site, the protective façade is regrown from the recycled material of its heritage, a five-storey, monumental, hit and miss brick screen. The brick skin is designed to protect the interior, a safe space to regrow and heal.

Carefully dappled light radiates through the skin into the internal spaces beyond, while climbing plants are sewn through its openings. The skin simultaneously talks of protection and regeneration.

Built from CLT timber, the interior guides the way to a sustainable future, with materials kept as close to their natural state as possible. Intersecting pathways create opportunities for chance encounters while providing meandering paths for occupants to bathe in the overflowing greenery. A space to regrow.

At the core of the project, standing proud from ground to roof, is a light-filled, green atrium. The atrium is the spine that guides the way to a rooftop garden, alive with the seasons. A space to heal. The building is designed to be carbon neutral in construction and operation. It is a place about stillness, calmness, treatment, recovery, restoration and regeneration.

We are proud to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which we work and learn. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.

Awards

• DRIVENxDESIGN Melbourne Design Awards 2021 Architecture, Proposed (Gold)

We are proud to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which we work and learn. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.