The first retirement living village in Australia to achieve the Gold Livable Housing Design.
The Quality Mark represents a trusted seal of approval that attests to enhanced livability. “Traditional home designs will no longer address the lifestyle needs of older Australians,” says General Manager of Lend Lease’s Retirement Living Development business, Simon Pagett.
“In order to remain relevant and meet market expectations we must respond to these needs with innovation and flexibility – being the first to meet this new national standard is one of these ways,” Simon adds. Wander through one of the villas at Isabella Gardens and you’ll be struck by how similar it looks to any other home. Looks can be deceiving, though, and Isabella Gardens is a real life demonstration of just how easy and inexpensive the Livable Housing Design features are to incorporate, and the difference they can make to people’s quality of life. For example, Isabella Gardens features single storey homes, with wide internal doorways, corridors and spacious kitchens, laundries, bedrooms and living spaces that provide easy access for everyone. Light switches, power points, handles and tapware are easy for everyone to reach and use. Walls in bathrooms are reinforced to enable grabrails to be installed in the future if required.
Each villa has a continuous, step free pathway from the front boundary to the front door. They also have wide set-back driveways, providing residents and their visitors with space to park and conveniently open car doors. “Achieving the first Gold certification from Livable Housing Australia demonstrates our vision to create the best places. Lend Lease has embraced the Livable Housing Design Guidelines as an important methodology for measuring the design features included in a home,” Simon explains. For many people, their home is a source of security and personal confidence. Isabella Gardens sets a new benchmark for the industry and will give residents confidence that their homes meet their needs both now and in the future.
Of course, livable homes aren’t just for seniors wanting to age in place. Livable homes work for pregnant mums, young families with kids, as well as Australians living with disability or with sporting or traumatic injuries. We expect a massive market for livable design features in the future – so investing in livability now is a smart move.