Bunurong
Victoria
The Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre (PFMCC) delivers an iconic centre for excellence dedicated to cancer treatment and research. Located in the heart of St Kilda Road in Melbourne, the major new facility provides Alfred Health with a next generation clinical and research centre. At its core, the Centre is dedicated to delivering a next generation translational research facility, incorporate the entire ‘bench to bedside and back’ cycle, and delivering the latest advances in cancer treatment with the development of the latest therapies and clinical trial offerings.
Lyons’ design is the outcome of close examination of patient care and treatment and moves away from traditional clinical models towards more bespoke therapy. The iconic external design, based on the idea of the healthy outer layer of skin, allows light to filter softly through the ‘veil’ of the façade, creating a calming environment for patients, staff, and families.
On arrival, a composed split-level landscape—negotiating public and semi-private thresholds—signals a clear prioritisation of patient wellbeing, both physical and mental. The spatial sequence establishes a calm, restorative tone that frames the entire architectural experience.
A patterned façade, derived from the cellular structure of healthy skin, operates at multiple registers: as solar and privacy screening, as a legible public identity, and as a quiet assertion of the centre’s clinical purpose within a homogenous commercial context. Adopting a ‘bench to bedside and back’ model, the facility strategically co-locates diagnosis, treatment, recovery, research, and clinical trials within a singular, spatially coherent framework. This dissolves traditional silos and enables a more continuous patient journey.
Internally, the architecture privileges intimacy, with domestic-scaled volumes and framed landscape outlooks deliberately obscuring the complexity of upper-level clinical operations. Realised through rigorous consultation and enabled by philanthropic, government, and community support, the project demonstrates the architectural potential of integrated, human-centred healthcare delivery.
The Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre at The Alfred is a state-of-the-art facility where researchers and clinicians collaborate to bring cutting edge treatment to patients with melanoma and other cancers. The thoughtful design, developed in collaboration with patients, allows teams to develop and deliver world class care to patients in a warm, modern environment that places the patient at the centre of their care. Made possible through philanthropic, community and government partnerships, the centre represents a new era in cancer care, leveraging intentional design to deliver lifesaving and lifechanging early detection, diagnosis and treatment for metropolitan and regional patients.
Lyons, Principal Consultant, Design Architect, Health Planner and Interior Designer
RushWright Associates, Landscape Consultant
Meinhardt-Bonnacci, Structural Engineer
Meinhardt-Bonacci, Civil Consultant
Meinhardt-Bonacci, Facade Engineer
Philip Chun Advisory, Building Surveyor
One Mile Grid, Traffic Consultant
ID-LAB, Signage & Wayfinding Consultant
Coulter Advisory, Independent Laboratory Peer Reviewer
Madigan Surveying, Land Surveyor
Slattery, Quantity Surveyor
Urbis, Town Planner
Watermans AHW, Electrical Consultant
Watermans AHW, Hydraulic Consultant
Watermans AHW, Mechanical, Fire Services and Vertical Transport Engineer
UT Consulting, AV Consultant
Watermans AHW, ESD Consultant
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
