What Silver Thomas Hanley does

Silver Thomas Hanley, trading as Studio STH, is an Australian specialist healthcare architecture and design firm founded in 1985 and headquartered in Melbourne. The firm delivers architectural design, clinical planning, BIM coordination, and health precinct master planning services across public and private healthcare, aged care, mental health, cancer care, and fertility facility segments. Its core capabilities center on evidence-based healthcare design, therapeutic environments, dementia-friendly aged care planning, biophilic mental health design, and sustainable healthcare infrastructure (4 Star Green Star delivery), supported by an in-house BIM management function.

The firm operates from four Australian offices — Melbourne (Naarm), Sydney (Eora), Brisbane (Meeanjin), and Adelaide (Tarndanya) — and executes both standalone commissions and consortium-based Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deliveries with partners such as Hassell, DesignInc, McBride Charles Ryan, Bates Smart, B+H, and PDT Architects. Revenue is generated through project-based professional fees scoped across design phases from feasibility through to contract administration, with contract sizes ranging from small fit-outs to multi-billion-dollar hospital developments (e.g., Royal Adelaide Hospital PPP, Gold Coast University Hospital at $1.76B). Customers include state health infrastructure agencies (Vic, QLD, SA, NSW) and large private operators such as Ramsay Health Care and St John of God Health Care, alongside selective international engagements in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong.

The firm's reputation is reinforced by international industry recognition including the World Architectural Festival Winner (INSIDE Health & Fitness, 2023) and European Healthcare Design Awards 2025 Highly Commended, and a portfolio of landmark Australian projects such as the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (90,000m2) and Royal Adelaide Hospital (258,000m2). Leadership comprises Managing Director Ernest Girardi, Founding Director Aija Thomas, and Principals David Collins and Fred Lau, with deep tenure across the healthcare architecture domain.

Name

Silver Thomas Hanley

Legal name

Studio STH

Website

https://sth.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Studio STH (formerly Silver Thomas Hanley) is an Australian specialist healthcare architecture firm founded in 1985, delivering evidence-based hospital, aged care, mental health, and cancer facility design for government health agencies and private operators across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Adelaide

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional fees generated through design services for healthcare facilities, aged care homes, hospital redevelopments, and community buildings. Revenue is project-based, typically structured around design phases from concept through documentation to delivery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studio STH is a specialist healthcare architecture and design practice delivering architectural design, documentation, and contract administration services for healthcare facilities. The firm's core offerings span public hospital design, private hospital design, residential aged care design with dementia-friendly principles, mental health facility design, cancer care centre design, fertility and women's care facility design, paediatric care design, and health precinct master planning. Services are delivered across Australia from offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, and internationally through collaborative partnerships.

Product overview

Studio STH is a specialist healthcare architecture firm operating as a single unified service practice rather than a modular product platform. The company's core offering is architectural design and master planning services for healthcare facilities, with particular expertise in public and private hospitals, aged care facilities, mental health units, cancer centers, fertility clinics, and paediatric care. Their portfolio includes major projects such as the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Gold Coast University Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital, and various aged care developments. The firm provides end-to-end services from feasibility studies through to documentation and contract administration, with specialized expertise in evidence-based design principles for healthcare environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Architecture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% single-patient bedrooms in Gold Coast University Hospital - first for Australian public hospitals, enhancing privacy and reducing infection rates
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DesignInccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre project. DesignInc worked alongside Studio STH and McBride Charles Ryan on this landmark 90,000m2 cancer research and treatment facility, the largest comprehensive cancer centre in the southern hemisphere.
• McBride Charles RyancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre project. The consortium delivered integrated clinical and research design for the facility housing 206 beds, 110 chemotherapy places, and 20,000m2 of research space.
• PDT ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio STH, PDT Architects and Hassell formed a consortium to deliver the Gold Coast University Hospital, Australia's largest public health infrastructure project at the time at $1.76 billion.
• HassellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the consortium with Studio STH and PDT Architects delivering the Gold Coast University Hospital, a 175,000m2 facility pioneering 70% single-patient bedrooms in Australian public hospitals.
• Bates SmartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio STH collaborated with Bates Smart on the Tweed Valley Hospital Masterplan, NSW's largest regional hospital greenfield development of 57,000m2.
• COX ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with COX Architects as principal consultant and design partner for the Forensic Medicine & Coroners Court Complex in Lidcombe, NSW. The project won a Master Builders Association NSW Award.
• Generation Healthcare REITminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivered St John of God Berwick Hospital expansion in partnership with Generation Healthcare REIT as part of the broader SJOG Casey Health Precinct.
• B+HcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with B+H for Gleneagles Medini Hospital in Johor, Malaysia - a 63,000m2, 300-bed hospital developed in three phases on a 14-acre site.
• SA Health Partnership consortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio STH in association with Design Inc as part of the SA Health Partnership consortium delivered the Royal Adelaide Hospital as a PPP project - a 258,000m2 world-class facility.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hassell: Australian architecture firm with one of the largest healthcare practices in the region. Hassell was Studio STH's consortium partner on the $1.76B Gold Coast University Hospital PPP and competes for the same public hospital and PPP mandates across Australia.
• Bates Smart: Australian architecture practice with a dedicated health and education portfolio. Collaborated with Studio STH on the Tweed Valley Hospital Masterplan (NSW's largest regional hospital greenfield) and competes on similar state-government hospital mandates.
• Cox Architecture: Large Australian multidisciplinary architecture firm with a substantial healthcare portfolio. Partnered with Studio STH on the Forensic Medicine & Coroners Court Complex and competes across public hospital and government health infrastructure work.
• B+H Architects: Global architecture firm with deep healthcare specialization and major Asia-Pacific footprint. Collaborated with Studio STH on Gleneagles Medini Hospital in Malaysia and competes directly on international healthcare commissions.
• DesignInc: Australian architecture firm with significant healthcare and public infrastructure experience. Consortium partner with Studio STH on both the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and Royal Adelaide Hospital PPP, competing for the same large healthcare mandates.
• McBride Charles Ryan: Australian architecture practice recognized for health, education and public architecture. Consortium partner with Studio STH on the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and a direct competitor in Australian healthcare and institutional design.
• PDT Architects: Australian architecture firm with a significant healthcare portfolio. Consortium partner with Studio STH on the Gold Coast University Hospital PPP and a direct competitor in Queensland and broader Australian healthcare architecture.

Broad incumbents

• HDR Inc. Global architecture, engineering and consulting firm with a top-tier healthcare design practice. Competes for Australian and international hospital PPP mandates and represents the kind of multidisciplinary incumbent that can crowd specialist healthcare-only firms.
• HKS Inc. Global architecture leader with one of the world's largest dedicated healthcare practices. Competes with Studio STH for major hospital commissions where international credentials are valued, particularly on PPP and mega-projects in Asia-Pacific.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with a strong healthcare specialty and Asia-Pacific presence. Competes for major international and Australian healthcare commissions, including cancer centres, research hospitals and sustainable healthcare infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studio-sth-au
• Instagraminstagram.com/studiosth.au

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silver Thomas Hanley