In 2014, there were an estimated 3,700 children in Queensland affected by life-limiting conditions. With no other children’s hospice currently in Queensland, Hummingbird House provides care for these children and their families. Envisaged as a home away from home, Hummingbird House gives families the added flexibility to access respite and hospice care when home or hospital care can no longer meet their needs.

Hummingbird House is as an 8-bed, 24/7 medical facility, including physician and nursing support, pain and symptom management in the form of both scheduled and emergency respite care, and end-of-life care.

For this project, we collaborated with Surroundings to undertake an extensive human-centred engagement and briefing process involving six workshops and online surveys. The stories told and information shared by parents and carers alike has directly influenced the design, and the team has been touched by the user group’s willingness to be involved and their insightful contributions.