Novartis Australia HQ Campus | HDR | Rice Daubney

The new HQ campus lays the foundation for the future of Novartis in Australia as it will, for the first time, bring together the Novartis group of companies—Alcon, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz—under one roof in a cutting-edge facility that will enable Novartis to continue to deliver the best possible healthcare solutions for Australians. Marprop is the Development Manager for the project from inception to completion and Ganellen is the Design & Construction Contractor.

The building is tailored exclusively to meet Novartis' needs and philosophy. It will aid in bringing together all staff as a combined working group with a clear emphasis on increasing interaction both within business' and between different divisions to aid in the development of the company's culture of collaboration and innovation.

Spanning six story's and more than 107,000 SF (10,000 SM), the building consists of a highly transparent rectangular "glass box" perched on the side of the slopping site and contrasted by sinuous curved timber and aluminum forms that anchor the development. The design is a translation of the Novartis brand, which is grounded in fact-based science—represented by the glass box—and a mission of Caring and Curing—signified by the soft curved timber structures that act as both the physical and emotional core of the building.

The design revolves around a central space that creates a series of interaction opportunities and promotes communication between levels, departments, business's and staff. This central space connects the ground floor lobby, café, and Novartis museum with the working levels, top level meeting rooms and the roof garden. Furthering the concept of collaboration, Novartis has adopted an activity-based working model dubbed "the Novartis way of working," which harmonizes with the building's structure to provide a flexible working environment for all staff. This environment not only allows the business to welcome both field-based staff and visitors as valued members of the Novartis community, but also provides a variety of working styles, allowing a series of different working processes to occur together in optimized environments.

The new building, which is set to achieve a 5 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and a 5 Star energy rating from the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), is due for completion at the end of 2015.