A Dynamic Second Skin

Wallan Veterinary Hospital is an efficient and elegant project that refreshes the traditional vet hospital typology. Uniformly spaced spotted gum battens wrap the building and provide effective sunshading. This second skin is the facility’s defining feature, visually unifying the 280m² hospital to create a singular cohesive form, emphasising the site’s fall and investing the project with a strong connection to place. At night, the battens soften the interior’s lighting, emitting a warm glow that creates a lantern-like effect and announces the hospital as open.

This innovative wayfinding strategy allowed Crosshatch to eschew the use of traditional signage so as not to disrupt the form’s uniform appearance. As a result, the battens create a veil that oscillates between transparent and solid, with views into the building that open and close depending on the visitor’s approach. It lends the project a sense of dynamism rarely seen in this building type.