Bice Building, in strong Edwardian style, part of key expansion in 1920s of the original Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Bice Building was part of an important redevelopment of Royal Adelaide Hospital site at the eastern end of North Terrace, Adelaide city, in the 1920s.
Image courtesy Hassell, Purcell & Baukultur
The Bice Building, part of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital at the eastern end of North Terrace, Adelaide city, had its South Australian state-heritage-listed Edwardian features enhanced by a refurbishment that won a 2022 South Australian architecture award.
The refurbishment by Hassell, Purcell & Baukultur received the David Saunders award for heritage for creating “an exemplary landmark” within the Lot Fourteen innovation precinct. The restoration work, by Hansen and Yuncken, carefully removed intrusive alterations and reinstated the original balconies to reveal the finely balanced facades, with adaptive reuse of the internal spaces of the four-level building.
The Bice Building was the first building erected as part of an important redevelopment of the Royal Adelaide Hospital site which evolved from the planning of the 1921-22 extra accommodation committee. It was the first of a planned six new buildings fronting North Terrace on what had originally been the hospital gardens.
The building's drawings and specification were prepared by the South Australian government architect-in-chief’s office to the design attributed to assistant chief draughtsman senior architect George Gavin Lawson. The distinctive and original design had a clear reference to the work of South Australian government public buildings superintendent (1886-1920) Owen Smyth. Alfred E. Simpson became the government’s first architect in chief in 1920 with his office taking on design for the works and buildings department.
The Bice Building architecture was significantly Edwardian in source, particularly the classical free style of its entrance portico. The central recessed bay of the middle storey was enclosed in a semi-circular arched opening that followed earlier architects such as H. H. Richardson, Halsey Ricardo, Charles Voysey and Edward Lutyens The arched opening also referred to the hospital’s Flinders wing from the early 1890s and to the east of the Bice Building.
Earlier buildings in Adelaide with this prominent arched and recessed entry also included the Adelaide Steamship Company Building in Currie Street, Adelaide city, constructed in 1911 by Alfred Wells. The design also followed on from the aesthetic of the Margaret Graham Nurse’s Home on Frome Road, particularly in the bell cast form of the roof.
The Bice Building contract was awarded to H. S. C. Jarvis of Croydon and work started 1924 but the building wasn’t opened until 1927. The building was named after the recently deceased former chief secretary John Bice, who substantially improved the hospital as minister.
The building was originally the administration building, with offices and meeting rooms a on the ground floor. The first and second floors accommodated resident medical officers and included a library, billiard room, dining room and bedrooms. The third floor had a large ward which was surrounded on three sides by balconies to encourage fresh air and foster natural ventilation. North-south orientation gave maximum exposure to natural light on the east and west sides, and it encouraged cross ventilation, an important part of hospital design at this time.
Changes were made to the building in 1958 with additional rooms on the eastern side of the building at ground and first floor level, and the front portico had an additional room added above with appropriate detailing to create a library internally.