
The Mount Barker Hospital has been unveiled by the South Australian Government. Located on the existing Mount Barker District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital site, the new hospital will serve the rapidly growing Mount Barker and Adelaide Hills region.
The design by Swanbury Penglase and Hassell for the new hospital is important for the Mt Barker and surrounding Adelaide Hills community as it will deliver expanded capability to provide consumers with access to an increased range of healthcare services closer to home.

The design for the new Mount Barker Hospital features a new clinical services building wrapped around a central courtyard, offering an integrated architectural, interior, and landscape response that celebrates the natural environment. The new clinical building will also seamlessly integrate with existing buildings, including the Imaging and Emergency Departments.
The much-loved Duck Flat Community Garden has been preserved as a vital community and environmental asset, benefiting patients, carers, the hospital workforce, and the wider community.
Hassell’s Health Sector Leader and Principal, Leanne Guy, says the hospital design approach has been grounded in community, culture and connection to the local landscape to create a healthcare facility that will be culturally sensitive and a contemporary place of healing and respite.
“We’ve provided generous views of the landscape and access to the Duck Flat community garden and emphasised the importance of integrating nature as part of the design to positively influence healing, restoration and human connection, while supporting biodiversity.”
The new Mount Barker Hospital will triple inpatient capacity from 34 to 102 beds, expanding specialist maternity, paediatrics, rehabilitation, medical, surgical, and palliative care services. The facility will also include 35 consult rooms to support community and allied health, Aboriginal Health, medical outpatient services, and a new 12-bed mental health unit.
Swanbury Penglase and Hassell are providing architecture, interior design and landscape architecture services for the project.
Images Credit: WAX