A $2.3B mega-hospital. World-class technology. And a real challenge for users just trying to get to their appointment.
The new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) is South Australia’s flagship health facility and one of the most advanced digital hospitals globally. Structurally, the hospital spans the equivalent of three city blocks and is located on a pristine site containing almost four hectares of landscaped parks and internal green spaces, including over 70 courtyards, terraces, and sky gardens.
While the primary catchment for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, the tertiary and quaternary care catchment area encompasses approximately 2.4 million square kilometres, covering all of South Australia, the Northern Territory, and the western parts of New South Wales and Victoria. To put this in perspective, the area served is nearly equivalent to the combined landmass of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Despite the vast geography, the population within this area is about 1.7 million people, with the majority residing in metropolitan Adelaide.
The hospital treats an estimated 85,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients annually.
With such an expansive and diverse catchment area, the RAH required a wayfinding system that could accommodate the needs of a broad patient demographic—many of whom travel great distances for care.
Project
Royal Adelaide Hospital
Client
Hansen Yuncken / Leighton JV
Collaborators
Silver Thomas Hanley & DesignInc
Location
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Size
165,000 m² hospital building
65,000 m² car park
850 beds
107,000 m² site total
Project Build Cost
Focus
The problem
The scale of the building was unlike anything most patients or staff had ever encountered. The hospital had eight main lift cores, dozens of clinics, countless “Zones” and “Wings,” and multiple points of entry depending on transport mode, arrival time, and user role.
Getting from A to B was only part of the challenge. We focused on building confidence, reducing stress, and supporting critical health workflows at every step.
Then came the tech. Check-in kiosks, appointment tickets, and digital directories were planned—but none of it was yet aligned with the real-world spatial or behavioural journey.
We were brought in from the very beginning of the architectural design process. That meant we could help shape the navigation experience from the inside out.
What we did
We started with the vertical cores. These were the backbone of movement, so each was given a distinct environmental identity—water, city, flora, desert, and so on. These graphics weren’t decorative. They were orientation anchors. Created by local artist Annalise Rees, they appeared across flooring, glass, walls, and even furniture, helping users build spatial memory.
We flagged early on that the return journey was a major UX challenge. So we designed environmental cues that gave people a subtle sense of repetition and reassurance—“yes, this is the same lift you arrived in.” When people feel lost, even subconscious visual cues can reduce anxiety.
We also redesigned key arrival points. At the main entry, we worked with the architect on the redesign of the reception zone—relocating it to function as a clear zone of attraction and making it immediately visible on arrival. What was originally tucked out of view became an intuitive anchor point for orientation and assistance. This spatial intervention wasn’t signage—it was an architectural upgrade.
We mapped real-world journeys with clinicians, administrators, facilities managers, and patients—then built the signage system around those behaviours to support how people actually move.
A system that thinks like an airport
Given the scale and complexity, we designed the wayfinding system more like a transit hub than a hospital. Large digital directories, oversized directional signage, and clear zone identifiers allowed users to scan information quickly and make confident decisions under pressure.
To align the physical and digital systems, we developed an overarching information architecture that included:
Terminology guidelines for departments
Appointment letter formats
Static signage (directionals, IDs, directories)
Digital kiosks and directories
Ticketing flows from check-in systems
We also designed the user interface for the digital kiosks—tailored for people aged 6 to 96. No advertising. No clutter. Just clear step-by-step interactions. You could scan your letter, receive a number, and get simple printed instructions that used the same language as the signs.
Because that’s what good UX does: it speaks the same language across every touchpoint.
The post-occupancy gap
Six months after opening, the hospital introduced check-in kiosks as a new entry point for outpatients—without linking them to the signage or the previously designed flows.
The kiosks were placed near power outlets, not decision points. The instructions they printed didn’t match the language or structure of the signage system. Patients were told to go to “Level 3E, Area 1”—but there was no such thing on the signs. Or the kiosks. Or the maps.
We’d anticipated this. During early strategy work, we had outlined how kiosks would eventually need to integrate with wayfinding. But that wasn’t implemented at the time.
The lesson? A smart system needs more than good design—it needs alignment. Especially in environments where every moment matters.
The outcome
The Royal Adelaide Hospital now has a wayfinding system that matches the ambition of the hospital itself. It’s calm. Consistent. Intuitive. It’s spatial, digital, operational, and behavioural—woven into the building, not tacked on.
The interface, graphics, hardware, and workflows are all part of the same system. From emergency arrivals and scheduled patients to visiting families and staff, the experience is easier, clearer, and more human.
We designed a wayfinding system that can grow with the hospital—not one that needs to be replaced every time a new tool or building opens.
