The Casino Aboriginal Medical Service (CAMS) building provides the setting for the Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation to serve the medical needs of the Aboriginal communities in the NSW Richmond Valley. Designed by Kevin O’Brien Architects, the project puts culture and community at the centre of a place-specific design.

The medical centre supports healthy community by providing a place where patients, families, visitors and staff feel safe, respected and supported because their needs and concerns have been listened to and understood. Consultation with Aboriginal community and staff informed the development of the design, with Kevin O’Brien brining a methodology that supported a deeper cultural awareness and respect for Aboriginal people and culture. The design team took the time to get to know members of the community and staff and built their trust. This engagement process has resulted is a highly nuanced and sophisticated design that responds to the local a specific community.

The place-specific design of the centre connects the building with its broader location and landscape. Local materials with a relationship to Country have been used, and views to outside from the interior have been framed to reference specific sites and stories. Bricks made from the earth of Bundjalung Country feature heavily in the design. They are used selectively with subtle details and patterns that insert cultural meaning into specific parts of the building. Solid brick paving to the entry and courtyard provides robust, hard-wearing surface, as well as indicating meeting and social places.

This text was the result of online research borrowing from the GANSW The Casino Aboriginal Medical Service Case Study.