The Children’s Hospital at Westmead’s Dragonfly Car Park has been recognised with a 2025 Master Builders Association (MBA) Excellence in Construction Award, marking a significant milestone achievement in creating sustainable healthcare infrastructure. 

Delivered by Kane Constructions in collaboration with Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN), Health Infrastructure, and local Dharug artists, the project exemplifies innovation, cultural connection, and environmental responsibility. The award celebrates the car park’s outstanding integration of renewable energy technology, design, and functional efficiency within a hospital environment. 

Setting a new standard in sustainable design 

The car park incorporates bifacial solar panels across its rooftop and façade, creating the largest solar installation on a newly built hospital car park in NSW. Generating 837 MWh of electricity between June 2024 and July 2025, the system has delivered cost savings of approximately $112,000 and reduced carbon emissions by 494 tonnes in its first year of operation. 

The facility also features 75 operational electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, with the capacity to expand to 200 in the future. The infrastructure has also enabled SCHN to begin electrifying its hospital fleet, with a target to fully transition the Hospital in the Home (HITH) fleet to electric vehicles by late 2025. 

A collaboration of culture, community and innovation 

The project’s visual identity draws inspiration from designs by Dharug artists Leanne Tobin and Leanne Redpath. Leanne Tobin’s dragonfly design soars prominently across the facade, while symbols – including gathering circles, river reeds, and the sun – developed by Leanne Redpath identify connections to Dharug Country. 

Close collaboration between Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network’s Redevelopment, Engineering, ICT, Transport and Sustainability teams, and Health Infrastructure ensured the project met operational and sustainability goals. It also established new fire safety standards for EV infrastructure through consultation with Fire and Rescue NSW and internal subject matter experts. 

Recognising leadership in environmental sustainability 

The Master Builders Excellence in Construction Award follows the project’s earlier recognition through the SCHN Quality and Innovation Award for Environmental Sustainability, highlighting its contribution to the Network’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2035. 

By integrating renewable energy, EV infrastructure, and Aboriginal design, the Dragonfly Car Park represents a benchmark in sustainable hospital development. It demonstrates how environmental innovation, cultural inclusion, and strategic collaboration can shape the future of healthcare infrastructure in NSW.