RFDS William Creek

Location

Arabana Country | William Creek SA

Status

Completed 2024

Client

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Photographer

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Collaborators

SHAPE Modular

Scope

Lead Primary Sub-consultant, Architecture, Interior Design

Following the successful delivery of The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Marree Remote Area Clinic, Das Studio partnered with SHAPE Australia to deliver a Virtual Emergency Centre in William Creek, a purpose-designed facility to provide 24/7 medical and emergency care.

To learn more about the project: https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/sant/news/outback-australia-first-virtual-emergency-centre/

Place

The small remote town of William Creek, in the heart of central desert South Australia, welcomes more than 26,000 tourists each year. Yet, it lacked a health hub to support its community, RFDS teams flying in to provide services from the unsuitable local hotel.

Proposition

Delivered under a Design & Construct model, Das Studio were invited to speculate what a solution could look like based on a simple brief from the RFDS. This design was costed by SHAPE and ultimately allowed our team to move forward in collaboration with the RFDS Central Operations team to deliver this first-of-its-kind facility.

Make Better

The new centre provides fully equipped patient care spaces for regular fly-in health consultations, including an emergency space and telehealth communication technology for medical emergencies. A community space, waiting area and accessible toilet, complement direct access to William Creek Airport for RFDS crews.

Built in SHAPE’s manufacturing facility in Adelaide, the RFDS were able to inspect the build in progress, providing greater efficiency by reducing the amount of time required on site.

The modules made the 820-kilometre journey north, including 200 of these on unsealed roads, to be reconnected and secured to footings in just eight hours.