Fundamental reimagining: new Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick

The new Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick opened to patients in November 2025. Designed by Billard Leece Partnership (BLP) and incorporating Australia’s first Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre, it is intended to represent more than just a new hospital building — being designed as a fundamental reimagining of how healing spaces and care journeys can transform children’s health outcomes.

Rather than competing priorities, the design team saw innovative human-centred design, clinical excellence and cutting-edge research integration as complementary. The new Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre integrates clinical care and translational research laboratories positioned adjacent to each other, which BLP said marks a first for Australia.

Through this ‘bench-to-bedside’ design, the aim is to enables seamless coordination between research and treatment. As to the design ethos, concepts of the ‘home’ and the ‘backyard’ support the need and desire for normality during hospital stays. These concepts are supported through nature-filled social spaces where families gather to eat together, play together, visit with pets, and enjoy cafes — intended to provide joyful distractions in a less clinical setting.

Equally, spaces within the hospital have been designed to allow parents to work. Key design features include single-occupancy patient rooms that are designed as ‘bedrooms not wards’, with desks and lounges in each room; multipurpose family spaces with extended 24/7 access; and a dedicated food delivery service window.

Other features include interactive play areas and discovery zones that stimulate a child’s or young person’s imagination; biophilic design elements that incorporate natural light and green spaces accessible from every ward and laboratory; and exposed research laboratories with glazed walls that demystify medical research for children and parents.

Images: Supplied