An exciting new health space has opened in Launceston, with not-for-profit Tasmanian health insurer St Lukes today unveiling an innovative wellness hub in one of Australia’s most sustainable office buildings.
Located on the ground floor of St Lukes’ new head office in Launceston, the wellness hub is a welcoming space that’s hardwired for health, said CEO Paul Lupo.
“This new wellness hub has been custom-built with one goal in mind – to make every Tasmanian’s health journey a little easier,” he said.
“It is a built manifestation of our vision to make Tasmania the healthiest island on the planet, where every member of the community can access a range of wellbeing initiatives and services.
“The space itself is a motivating force that brings people together to build connections, learn ways to improve their health and wellbeing, and feel supported to take action.”
Located at 93 Cimitiere Street, the Launceston wellness hub will host a rolling program of events that promote nutrition, movement and connection, in partnership with local organisations.
St Lukes’ popular Health Navigation initiative is also expanding to Launceston. The free service is aimed at helping people find the right healthcare options for their needs – regardless of whether they have private health insurance.
As well as a customer care centre, the wellness hub also features St Lukes’ first dental practice, a playground and soon-to-be-opened Sweetbrew café.
Scott Balmforth, Director of Tasmanian architecture firm Terroir, said the ground floor set the tone for a building that prioritises openness, health and wellbeing. “The retention of the original heritage warehouses was important, keeping their authenticity and preserving layers of valuable history and character,” he said.
“The building’s original repetitive timber trusses are the hero of the ground floor space, creating a sense of synergy between the industrial structures of another era and the modern, mass timber construction of the new build. We tied this into the St Lukes wellness hub area by installing its own timber ‘hero’: a Blackheart Sassafras timber feature ceiling.”
The wellness hub sits within a spectacular new addition to the Launceston skyline. St Lukes commissioned the seven-storey mass timber building to bring together its Launceston workforce, which was previously dispersed across four locations. Several other businesses have also taken up tenancies.
It’s the first multi-storey CLT/GLT* building in Tasmania, and one of only a dozen nationwide. St Lukes project director and board member Martin Rees said the project was extremely low carbon, with only half the emissions of a typical office building.
“We wanted this building to be nothing short of extraordinary: visually stunning, with world-leading sustainability credentials, and using Tasmanian materials and building local skills,” he said. “The project was an investment both in the health of Tasmanians, the environment, and the local economy. “This was really important for us as a not-for-profit, uniquely Tasmanian health insurer.”
With some aspects of the building still under completion, final tenant discussions and nation-leading sustainability certification assessment underway, St Lukes looks forward to revealing more details about the state-of-the-art building in the coming months.
St Lukes is excited to welcome the community to the wellness hub with an open day this Saturday, 27 July. Come along for a morning of free family fun from 9am – 12pm, including photos with Bluey and Bingo, face painting, games and more.
* CLT (cross laminated timber) and GLT (glue laminated timber).
ENDS Contact: Emily Woodgate, Timmins Ray Public Relations: 0412 828 802 | emily@timminsray.com.au