Baptcare Strathalan Community

The Baptcare Strathalan project looks to reinvigorate an existing aged care site into contemporary aged care and retirement living. The ultimate vision for the site is for a new 124 bed aged care building, 51 independent living units, and 72 independent living apartments.

Accompanied by a community centre building with health and wellness facilities, a resident’s lounge, cafe and op shop, this new configuration allows for a variety of living options designed to meet current and future resident’s needs.

Currently the site has a mix of buildings developed over 50 years including the original Victorian homestead, many of which have reached the end of their use. The homestead will be renovated adding additional program to the proposed community centre accommodating a new chapel and administration areas. The existing 49 independent living units will be maintained and benefit from the additional facilities.

The proposed villa units will be positioned to address the main street frontages of Erskine and Braid Hill Roads allowing for a domestic scale to the surrounding context. The apartment building and community centre will become the hub of the site placed in the centre and easily accessed by all the residents. The sloping site commands extensive views to the east which these buildings will address providing added amenity to the residents. The new aged care facility is placed along Braid Hill Road introducing an iconic building to the street easily accessible by the public and resident’s families.

The buildings will have a mix of materiality using a variety of brickwork colours, render finish and metal cladding. This considered palette of materials are skilfully composed and repeated amongst all the buildings allowing for variety and continuity of colour and texture amongst all the buildings. The apartment buildings are articulated using a ribbon motif along the balconies providing a strong and identifiable language breaking up the length and height of the buildings. The aged care building will have a patchwork of interlocking panels made of brickwork, metal cladding and render resulting in a rich facade patterning.

This development invigorates the existing site providing a village with a strong sense of community where the multitude ever changing and varied needs of residents are easily provided for well into the future.