Client : Brightwater Care Group
SITE was engaged for our critical thinking and unique approach to the design of this special new facility. Rather than replicate traditional health care environments, through research and close consultation with the client representatives, staff, and carers we developed a design concept strongly informed by their rehabilitation program. The design concept of each house responds to the client’s individual requirements and encourages their development through the program towards independence.
To replace existing outdated buildings, we designed new residential and administration facilities for the rehabilitation of up to 43 residents with neuro disabilities due to Acquired Brain Injury.
A complex design brief was developed to establish building requirements to address the multitude of visual, perceptive, motor, behavioural, and sensory impairments that the residents experience.
Located on the corner of Swansea and Oats Streets Carlisle, the site features eight individual houses, two double-storey apartments, a recreation centre, and an administration building.
With a two to three-year rehabilitation program that teaches residents to relearn simple life skills and become independent, the houses were designed to cater for people as they progress.
With an individual address, each house has its own identity through colour and texture and this also serves as a way-finding device so clients can easily recognise their residence.
Arranged along an internal pedestrian street for circulation and passive recreation, the houses have a strong community feel.
Centrally located in this street, the recreation centre features a prominent tower that acts as an important point of orientation from anywhere in the development.
As residents progress through the rehabilitation program and from houses one to 10, the interior and exterior designs become more complex and vibrant in colour, texture, and material palette to reflect the natural process of growth.
