The design for a $478 million biomedical precinct in Sydney has been unveiled.

A design team led by Denton Corker Marshall and HDR has been selected for integrated health, education, and research precinct for the University of Sydney and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

The half-a-billion dollar Sydney Biomedical Accelerator is designed to bring together seven science schools to tackle some of the world's most complex health challenges, from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. The facility is designed to allow for collaboration between scientists in different fields in order to create new treatments and cures for these diseases.

Construction for the new 36,000-square-metre precinct will begin next to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on the western boundary of the University of Sydney's Camperdown campus. The facility will include laboratory research space as well as clinical learning rooms.

The design, created in collaboration with Arcadia Landscape Architecture and Aileen Sage, is focused on connectivity and functionality.

"The building has been designed with a clear, simple sculptural form,” Denton Corker Marshall director Adrian Fitzgerald said. It will have a “floating top” with imagery alluding to both scientific investigation within and an indigenous narrative in the sculptural sunscreens, Fitzgerald added."

"Our design is efficient and clear, with the purpose of a systematic study. It is a building for the future that will be both memorable and timeless."

The design team of Denton Corker Marshall and HDR has won a competition for their design of the new project. The jury for the competition praised the team for their work in delivering a world-class biomedical precinct that celebrated the relationship between the university and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital campuses. This is the first time in history that the two have been linked together in such a way.

The jury also commented that the seven-storey circulation pine called the Connector was a “compelling proposition” to integrate the two facilities and expected to foster collaborative interaction.

HDR designed a range of education and laboratory research facilities, along with specialist core laboratories and technical support spaces that integrate research with patient health outcomes.

"HDR director Graeme Spencer said that by pairing their local and global scientific expertise, they have a unique opportunity to design and deliver a series of state-of-the-art, highly adaptable biomedical laboratories where education, healthcare, engineering, and science converge."

The new project is the result of a partnership between the NSW government, Sydney Local Health District, and the University of Sydney. The architectural design is intended to reflect this arrangement, enabling “seamless knowledge transfer and communication between the hospital and University,” the partnership said.

More than 1,200 biomedical researchers and clinicians are expected to work in the adjoining buildings, including 800 university laboratory researchers and Ph.D. students.

The Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation have contributed $20 million dollars to the $478 million dollar project, which will go towards the University of Sydney's health building designed by Billard Leece Partnership and Diller Scofidio and Renfro. This is one of many philanthropic donations that are funding the project.

Construction on the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator will begin in 2022, and the facility is scheduled to open in 2026.