Anyone who comes to Parkview with trepidation or anxiety about ‘aged care’ – well, as soon as they see it the stress just falls away. Everyone just loves it here because it feels like a luxury hotel. We get a lot of visiting developers and builders wanting to do exactly what Fulton Trotter has done here.

Fran Larkey - Director of Nursing, Parkview

Parkview, Wheller Gardens

Chermside Queensland

Parkview is the central facility within a high density Seniors residential precinct developed by Wesley Mission Brisbane. It continues on more than 70 years of innovative aged care provision on the site of Wheller Gardens, Chermside, Brisbane.

This building includes residential accommodation for 144 high care residents, a new community therapy centre, and supporting facilities. The accommodation is in predominantly single bed apartment format with a small number of 2 bed rooms.

The building is broken into 5 sections, 2 residential complexes ( one with therapy under), a central community building, a kitchen and café/ restaurant. Each residential section has 2 floors of 36 apartments arranged to maximize access to natural light, breezes, and views, while efficiently providing for staff travel distances. Each section has 2 lounge / dining spaces and, separately, hotel / nursing services.

A central community space, chapel, café, hairdresser, and admin facilities are all accessible to the public to defuse the barrier between this residential group and the surrounding community.

The high site value in this growing part of Brisbane necessitated a multi level and intensive approach. However, the buildings’ mass has been broken down into firstly the 5 buildings and then further into pods of 4 units to reduce the developments’ potential for an intimidating character.

The residential components use finely detailed concrete blockwork blades, panelised coloured spandrels, and individual stepped roofs to result in an aesthetic equating to apartment / resort living. A vertical empahasis has been applied to a largely horizontal building plate to reduce its impact. The central building is more dominant with outdoor entertaining verandahs detailed in timber screening projecting from a coloured blockwork core.

The café, when built, will be an entirely different aesthetic of Spanish tiles, timber louvres and pavilion forms to clearly identify this destination facet of the development.

Interiors use a largely white simplicity, combined with varying colour timber ceilings, and trims to allow the building to age as gracefully as possible.

Facility mission statement words by Wesley Mission Brisbane
Parkview is not so much a building, but a community flowing with the joy of life. Its purpose is to be filled with residents living well and with integrity, respect, empowerment, hope, justice, compassion, and innovation. The building is the framework, but the people inside are the spirit – encouraging individualised care through catering to the specific needs of each resident.

Parkview and its people fully embrace the principles of the Eden Alternative™ – “a principle-based philosophy that empowers Care Partners to transform institutional approaches to care into the creation of a community where life is worth living” – and which seeks to eliminate loneliness, helplessness and boredom in residential aged care.

Recognition
“Parkview is a community within a community” – Annie Gibney, Director of Nursing – Parkview, Wheller Gardens

“The staff love Parkview, the residents enjoy the atmosphere and their families are always excited to come and visit” – Geoff Batkin, CEO – Wesley Mission Brisbane

“Parkview re-defines institutional style aged care through sensitive and well considered design” – Malcolm Middleton, 2011 Jury Director – Australia Institute of Architects

“Parkview illustrates the importance of resident and staff input and involvement during the design stage” – Darragh O’Keefe, Editor – Aged Care INsite Magazine

“We feel Parkview demonstrates a new model of care through articulate and thoughtful architecture” – Mark Trotter, Director – Fulton Trotter Architects

“With my involvement in the aged care / retirement living industry over the last 25 years, I have seen much change in building designs. The facilities at Parkview are superb and a credit to all involved. I was particularly impressed by the design and attention to detail that has gone into this facility” – Barry Ashcroft, Deputy CEO – Aged Care Queensland

Awards

Feature on Architecture & Design | Feature on ArchDaily | Feature on Designlog | Feature on Help Street | Feature on INDESIGN LIVE | Feature on Urbika | Feature on Home Decor News | Feature on Architizer | Feature on Allhitecture | Feature on ArchitectTH | Feature on My Architecture | Feature on ArchiBlog | Feature on ArchDoc | Feature on News O Drome | Feature on Architravel | Feature on Push Pull Bar

For more information, please visit the Wesley Mission Brisbane website.