Best retirement housing design for Global Awards shortlisted
LOS ANGELES: The shortlist for the best retirement housing design has been declared.
Over 250 designs have been considered by the awards secretariat. One of the finalists in this category is shown above.
The architect behind a $60m, four-storey inner city apartment project admits to “geeking out” at the chance to add to Geelong’s suburban architecture, given the city’s status as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design.
Austin Maynard Architects co-founder Andrew Maynard leads the design team behind the Hope & Autumn project, a development of 56 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in two buildings at 51-53 Hope St and 66-76 Autumn St, Geelong West.
The Up Property project was submitted through the state government’s Development Facilitation Program, winning such widespread support that the proposal is being held as an example of how to approach suburban in-fill developments needed to meet 2050 residential dwelling targets.
Mr Maynard said it’s awesome that Geelong is acknowledged as a UNESCO City of Design.
“We geek out on that, because the legacy of Geelong’s design history is one that’s pragmatic solutions-based, not decorative, if you know what I mean,” Mr Maynard told a function to open Up Property’s Hope & Autumn display suite on Pakington St.
“Like wetsuits and cars and utes and how do we use design really thoughtfully to solve real problems?”
The challenge in this case was fitting a four-storey proposal into an area dominated by single-storey detached housing.
“In Geelong, like so many big regional centres, it’s really easy to sprawl when what we need is really thoughtful density,” Mr Maynard said.
The Global Award winner will be announced in December in London. (Globals)