Yadu Health Clinic
Location
The Land of the Far West Coast Aboriginal Peoples | Ceduna SA
Status
Under Construction
Value
$15.8m
Client
Yadu Aboriginal Health Corporation
Collaborators
Yanun Project Services
Fusco Constructions
Landskap
Visuals
Das Studio
Scope
Feasibility, Architecture, Interior Design
Yadu Health Clinic marks a new chapter in Aboriginal-led healthcare for the Far West Coast of South Australia. A best-practice and purpose-built healthcare facility, it will deliver a culturally appropriate and holistic model of care.
Place
Ceduna has long been known as a resting place between desert and sea. With a rich and storied history to the site, a new clinic needed to be robust and enduring. Both an acknowledgment of its locality and past, and, an aspirational marker to underpin the future health and wellbeing of the town.
Proposition
The former Yadu Health clinic, adjoining the Ceduna hospital, had long outgrown its purpose; ageing, unfit for use, and burdened by structural issues. Das Studio supported Yadu Health initially during feasibility stages to secure funding from the Commonwealth and State Governments in 2022. Following this milestone, the project team worked closely with local trailblazers and seasoned practitioners to design a state-of-the-art clinical environment. One to champion the role of Yadu Health workers as heroes within their community and provide a one-stop-shop for complete healthcare.
Form and materials are intended to evoke familiarity and comfort, responding to the duality of the thrumming costal conditions, and harsh inland desert.
Make Better
The Clinic is shaped around Yadu’s operational needs, and its commitment to delivering accessible, respectful healthcare. Clinical spaces — including general and specialist consult rooms, dental suites, and a dispensary — are to be supported by efficient back-of-house areas, amenity spaces and a new carpark.
Knowing healthcare visits can often be stressful, and that visitors are traveling from near and far, the project team prioritised feelings of safety, comfort, and welcomeness, while balancing nuanced cultural overlays.
Generous corridors and integrated wayfinding will help patients and staff navigate the facility with ease. A strategically placed courtyard and light-well will ensure all spaces access natural light – simultaneously offering glimpses to nature and maintaining a sense of privacy and protection.
By creating a facility that builds positive affiliations with clients, it will encourage repeat visits and health outcomes that are continually improving.
Client
“Das Studio have demonstrated a commitment to ensure that elements of Aboriginal culture are incorporated into the design and aesthetics of a building and ensure that the Aboriginal voice is heard and acknowledged during consultations.”
Archie Baker
Project Manager
Built for permanence, Yadu Health Ceduna will support over 1,300 Aboriginal people across the Far West region — a long-term investment in the health, wellbeing, and future of community.
