The NSW Forensic Medicine and Coroners Court utilises colour psychology and thoughtful design to reflect its natural surrounds and create a calming atmosphere.

Located in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, the facility unites NSW Health Pathology and NSW Justice to provide services related to unexpected or unexplained deaths.

For this reason, it was important to create an environment that would be sensitive to the experience of families in highly stressful situations.

The building has also been designed as a celebration of nature with a strong focus on colour psychology. For example, the colour green is typically read as calming and represents the concepts of renewal, growth and harmony. This colour has been incorporated into various parts of the facades and sculptural perforated shade fins on the west facade.

Internal feature spaces include the entrance atrium, courtroom waiting areas, and viewing spaces that celebrate daylight access, landscape views, and public art installations.

Outside, the facility is surrounded by landscaped gardens that complement the nature-inspired structure, coming together to enrich the public realm.

Key materials

• Vitracore aluminium facade cladding – to avoid flammability
• Trencadis ceramic tile feature cladding – creates feature elements that respond to local landscape context with leaf type pattern
• Perforated metal feature fins – perforated pattern reduces late afternoon heat load and glare while still allowing some outlook