The Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI), designed by John Wardle Architects and Wilson Architects, acting as Architects in Association, captures highly experimental molecular imaging technology and the necessary support resources within a single facility.
The building has an area of 5,590 m2, cost AUD36m, and was completed in 2013.
The CAI provides a rich collaborative environment for researchers in disciplines ranging from engineering, chemistry, physics, and computer science to biology, medicine, and psychology.
This potent mix of researchers works on innovations in imaging technology, imaging biomarker development, and in biomedical research disciplines.
The CAI facility accommodates NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance) and EPR (Electron paramagnetic resonance) alongside the complimentary use of MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (Positron emission tomography) imaging technologies in association with a cyclotron and supporting radio-chemistry laboratories for research and commercial partnering.
Traditionally, this type of facility is introverted in nature and protective of the complex machines within.
This insularity is often exacerbated by the layers of structure necessary to provide a stable environment for experimentation free from vibration and magnetic interference.
In contrast, the CAI is designed to include areas of interaction and collaboration across all levels, and these areas are concentrated at the ground and uppermost floors.
A key theme is the connection of the interior to the landscape beyond – a remnant heritage grove of eucalyptus, as well as sporting fields.
Terracing, ramping, and garden beds step down from the interior to the natural ground line.
A generous terrace at the uppermost floor provides great views out from the edge of the campus from this communal space.
Sun-shading blades create a vertical rhythm across the main facade, an allusion to the original landscape.
Materially, the exterior envelope is either precast concrete in a sandstone hue that connects the building with its historic campus context, or a neutral charcoal metal panel that clothes the functions related to the technology within.
The precast panels are carefully crafted, their profile attuned to keeping out the sun whilst their surface is inscribed with a pattern derived from imagery produced by the Centre.
The CAI is appropriately sited within the research precinct on the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus adjacent to the Gehrmann and Ritchie Buildings and with nearby access to the adjacent Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN).
A strong central link has been forged between the two adjacent buildings to form an internal street between the campus interior and its outer edge.
The project won the 2014 AIA Brisbane Regional Commendation for Public Architecture award.
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