The first of its kind in Australia, Korongee Village is a landmark dementia care development, set in the suburban village of Glenorchy, 10 mins outside of the city of Hobart, Tasmania.
The design team, led by Thomson Addsett and in association with Hobart based Cykel Architecture, Wicking Dementia Centre,Uni Tas, worked closely with the client, Glenview, and other specialist consultants through a series of collaborative workshops to develop the project masterplan.
The design response is a Tasmanian angle on the highly successful De Hogeweyk Village model, which was first developed in the Netherlands. This approach to dementia care maximises privacy and autonomy and results in significant improvements to the overall health and well being of residents. Studies have shown dramatic reductions in the need for medical treatment and therapy with the emphasis on more meaningful living.
The landscape setting echoes the typical suburban scenes found in the Glenorchy neighbourhood – weatherboard houses picket fences with low hedges, pocket parks and meandering steeply sloping streetscapes with dramatic views to Mt.Wellington.
Korongee Village creates a carefully planned suburban village environment for residents by providing demographically tailored homes set within a small town context complete with streetscapes, a supermarket, cinema, café, beauty salon, an orchard, art installations and a series of interconnected sensory gardens and activity zones.
Central to the design is the resolution of circulation and legibility. The landscape has been carefully planned to provide clear, pedestrian circulation systems throughout the village which enable residents to easily transition from their own personal space at “the front door”, to the village town centre via community gardens and shared spaces. This is achieved through subtle layers of landscape interventions ranging from simple visual cues, key destination points, materials, to planting displays and sensory stimulation.
Throughout, opportunities for social interaction, meaningful activities and sensory stimulation have been integrated into the scheme to build a community atmosphere across a range of demographics and age groups.
Our role as Landscape Architects included early sketch design and brief development in consultation with the design team, masterplan, schematic design, detailed design for tender and construction and administration and advice through construction.
View the project website here.
Featured on ABC News, website here.
Featured on Australian Institute of Architects Living Architecture Series, The Local Project: Episode 10 Encouraging Independence Through Inclusive Design
