St Vincent’s Aged Care, Bardon

St Vincent’s Care Services at Bardon is an innovative and exciting redevelopment consisting of a new 3 level building comprising 12 Studio and 20 one bedroom apartments, new administration, wellness centre, café and parking area on an existing residential aged care site. The project also involved refurbishment of the existing aged care building to create a new kitchen, residents dining and lounge areas as well as a fire services upgrade to the existing facilities. The constrained nature of the site presented many construction challenges.

Design and development planning focussed in part on achieving a building where elderly people from the Gympie community would feel at home. The landscape design includes a men’s shed, a potting/gardeners shed, a car in a garage, and a windmill and tank. Natural stone walls, picket fences, water features and a small bridge over a water course, mean that residents will naturally be drawn to this interesting and peaceful place that evokes reminiscence of their earlier lives. The new building links to the existing facility via a ground level courtyard and walkways.

Residents of the existing facility have access to the administration, a gym, club lounge and a large, attractive communal area on the ground floor of the new building. A central lift connects the ground floor areas with 2 upper levels of resident care accommodation. Operational design requirements (e.g. service areas such as pan, cleaners, storage areas and care stations) have been sensitively and subtly addressed so that there is more of a feeling of an upmarket, residential apartment building than a care facility. This project constructed by Paynters provides residential aged care services within a highly flexible environment. The project reflects the changing nature of aged care service models in response to the current reform agenda. As a result, residents are offered greater accommodation choices and service delivery flexibility within this new building.