Arcare Springwood

Elevation Architecture were engaged to design and document this four-storey, vertical-style aged care facility for a prominent site in Springwood, QLD. The property was originally zoned community usage, as part of the development council required a number of community orientated objectives. These included the rehabilitation of the existing waterway running parallel to the site, the integration of a community use boardwalk adjacent to the site and connecting the surrounding streets. The cross fall of this was over 10 m so it involved a number of interlinking ramps. The front of the site included a commercial public accessible café and community use area.

Alongside 110 individual bed suites the centre includes nurses’ stations, a commercial kitchen and café, several dining rooms, lounge rooms, activity & theatre rooms, administration facilities, a hairdressing salon and a wellness centre.

A particularly interesting challenge that we faced when we started working with the client on this design was the underground spring that we discovered flowed through the middle of the site, as well as protected vegetation and a natural waterway along the northern site border. By identifying these kind of complex site features at an early stage, we were able to work with them during the design process to create a unique solution for the aged care facility, as well as integrate community-inspired initiatives through the site, such as a publicly accessible boardwalk along the waterway.

Our team thoroughly enjoyed working with the client to bring Arcare Springwood from concept all the way through to completion in December 2018.