MEMBER STORIES
REDEFINING AGED CARE AND RETIREMENT LIVING ACTIVATING SENIORS’ LIVING IS ABOUT INTEGRATION WITH THE WIDER COMMUNITY
R
edefining aged care and retirement living, that’s the brief for Curtin Heritage Living’s $140 million integrated living development in Cottesloe, on the coast of Perth.
“We are creating something really new,” says Managing Director David Cox. “We’ve tried very hard to do things differently by actively engaging with the wider community throughout the design and construction process. It is essential that any new development meet the needs of the wider community, both now and in the future. “In the distant future, aged residential care might not exist, so we’ve been quite flexible in the design of the building. “For example, we know that in the future a lot of people seeking residential care will want more personal spaces, so we’ve got quite a lot of residential care suites with their own kitchenette, dining and lounge area, but have ensured that the design is flexible so that we can easily pull walls down and create more suites with multiple rooms.
“Because of the assets we have in Cottesloe, we actually think we can drive the ageing industry.” The new Cottesloe development is an expansive place, with 76 apartments and 128 residential care places. There’s also a full apartment for visitors. The historical buildings dating back to the 1800s will be retained, providing architectural interest. The fully integrated facilities will include an arts community hosting an artist-in-residence to service the care sector, as well as offer opportunities for retirement living residents. There will also be a medical centre, a restaurant, a café and lots of community spaces that will be enjoyed both by residents and members of the wider community. “We’re engaging with community groups to come in and we’ll give them accommodation in terms of lecture rooms and meeting rooms, social rooms, and we’ll give them that for free,” says David. “The idea is to really activate our community by providing environments that promote wider community engagement and meaningful interaction with our own residents.” The residential care facility, called Marine Views Cottesloe, is designed around a small household model. Although multi-storey, residents will live in small households of 16-residents, each with their own dining, lounge, living, activity and outdoor garden spaces. Households have been specifically designed to be familiar and comfortable.
Artists’ impression of the kitchen and dining areas in the small-scale aged care homes.
86
Residents will also have immediate access to special ‘destination’ spaces. As David explained, “Residents will be able to take a daily trip to special places including the piano lounge, cinema, chapel, craft centre, salon or the gym. These spaces generally have panoramic ocean views and have been designed to create a variety of experiences and an element of excitement.”
