“From a great past to a bright future” 16th Feb. 2012
The Royal Freemasons are one of Victoria’s largest and most respected aged care providers operating a state-wide network of accommodation, services and facilities across retirement living, community care and residential care. ThomsonAdsett was privileged to work with the Freemasons in the development of Coppin Lodge - their new, state-of-the-art aged care residence in Melbourne, Victoria.
The prominent inner-Melbourne site had a long history and other buildings on the site needed to be integrated in the new works. A masterplan was developed which will oversee the transformation of the site in stages. This first stage of redevelopment incorporates 106 aged care beds and the administration facilities for the Royal Freemasons group.
Two new Uniting Aged Care developments 23rd Jan. 2012
Supporting the next generation of Victorian Elders. Two new landmark projects for Uniting Aged Care are now operational. Melbourne Managing Director Tieran Kimber has worked with the group for the past four years to deliver both projects at Kingsville and Noble Park.
Tieran noted that the two sites are quite different in their delivery of care services. "The Kingsville project follows the CCRC (Continuous Care Retirement Communities) model prevalent in the United States, and incorporates a separately branded but co-located retirement living facility, and community support services. The Noble Park facility was completely redeveloped, but built on its existing reputation as a centre for community services, with day care services creating a community energy mixed with the high and low care beds."
A close working relationship with our client Uniting Aged Care has meant a great result for these two developments.
For more information contact Tieran Kimber.
Uniting Aged Care Kingsville + Amarco Apartments
Uniting Aged Care Noble Park
Island Life - Building Design in Papua New Guinea 18th Jan. 2012
ThomsonAdsett has been fortunate to receive several design commissions in PNG and surrounding island nations. Principals Tim Bentley and Ben Kearney are commuting from Cairns into the tropics every few weeks to service a wide range of projects, including an international school, commercial buildings, resorts and an upmarket hotel bar.
For more information contact Ben Kearney or Tim Bentley.
Top 100 Architecture Firm 12th Jan. 2012
ThomsonAdsett is once again humbled to be listed amongst the world's Top 100 architectural firms as published in an annual worldwide survey by BD World Architecture.
"Being a large firm means we can specialise in several areas. In a climate of recession we have focused on building our core discipline areas of Seniors Living, Commercial, Health Care and Education," said Group Managing Director Chris Straw.
"These disciplines mirror our clients' industries and together represent over 90% of our work. We have also identified emerging specialist discipline areas and are committed to incubating these. Having this specialist discipline focus allows our designers to become true specialists in their areas of expertise. We have identified our future as being a specialist design practice."
For more information on the Top 100 visit http://www.bdonline.co.uk/wa-100
State of the Union - Studying and Advancing Global Eldercare (SAGE) in the US 3rd Jan. 2012
ThomsonAdsett Principals Chris Straw and Matthew Hutchinson were joined by a group of 30 Australian seniors living facility operators and developers on a SAGE study tour to the United States. The tours were created by ThomsonAdsett in partnership with industry peak bodies to provide the Australian seniors living industry with insights into the delivery of seniors living from international examples.
The group explored several fascinating approaches to delivering seniors living, including a 'virtual retirement village' in Beacon Hill, Boston which did not have any physical buildings at all but rather linked together a community of seniors; Selfhelp in New York, which uses technology to connect seniors together at home and between its day centres; and Leonard Florence Center for Living with an innovative 'Green House' model, which moves away from wards and wings and towards domestic scale 'houses' with 8-10 rooms each.
Delegates also attended the biennial International Ageing conference held by the global peak aged care body IAHSA in Washington, DC. At the conference Chris Straw had the opportunity to sit on the review panel sharing innovative international care facilities with the conference attendees.
SAGE study tours have been operating since 2006. ThomsonAdsett organises the study tours in partnership with the three Australian peak bodies for retirement living and aged care; ACSA, ACAA and RVA.
For more information on the facilities visited on tour contact Matthew Hutchinson.
Showcasing Workplace design - new projects book released 20th Dec. 2011
ThomsonAdsett has released a new book featuring its recent workplace design projects. Click on the picture below to view the book online.
The rise of aged care in China 6th Dec. 2011
A recent article in China’s English-language international newspaper China Daily highlights the issues an ageing China is facing in housing its elderly population. A shift in government policy has seen a boom in international investment in the sector by developers targeting China’s emerging middle and upper classes.
ThomsonAdsett Principal David Lane was interviewed in the article, which highlights the clash of a culture where children are reluctant to see their elders placed in a nursing home because they feel “ashamed” or “embarrassed” to place them into a care environment.
In contrast to aged care facilities in Australia, the current stock of facilities in China are described as “overcrowded, receiving inadequate government funding, having poor amenities” and staffed by workers with no formal training.
The article identifies that the number of available beds in nursing homes can only cater for around 1.8 percent of China's elderly population, whereas the standard in many Western countries is between 5 and 7 percent.
ThomsonAdsett is currently working on numerous projects – two in Beijing and two in Shanghai, while bidding for further work in Foshan in Guangdong province, Dalian in Liaoning province, Wuxi in Jiangsu province, Wuhan in Hubei province and the municipality of Chongqing.
"I expect the level of inquiry (from investors and developers) will continue to increase rapidly over the next five years," said Lane.
“ThomsonAdsett has seen the need for quality seniors’ developments in this region for some time, and we are well placed to deliver the new wave of seniors living in China. We opened a design studio there in the early 1990s and have maintained a presence in the region ever since.”
Lane is a regular guest speaker at international aged care and health conferences on the subject of aged care in China. He recently gave a presentation to the World Gerontology Conference on the long term trends in dementia care design.
“Many hospital providers are under pressure from the government to expand their services to include aged care beds, and are looking to Australian experts to deliver these changes.”
The aged care industry is still undeveloped in China when compared to many Western countries. Australian design standards and models of care are perceived as amongst the best in the world, and therefore Australian expertise in the sector is sought by many Chinese organisations looking to develop their own aged care solutions.
“We have developed strategic partnerships with a number of firms, essential for doing business in Asia. We have been working with many of the sectors NGO’s and the Hong Kong Housing Society for the past 15 years helping to deliver their two pilot SEN (Seniors) developments in Hong Kong. These projects have set the benchmarks for future developments.
Architectural director Philip Wong is the manager of ThomsonAdsett’s Hong Kong studio, and he highlighted the office’s recent growth.
“Our studio has been expanding to meet increasing demands in the seniors living and health arenas. We have moved into larger office space and have put on several new staff in the past year and are currently delivering several large-scale aged care projects in Hong Kong and mainland China,” said Wong.
With the Chinese population getting older, a rising middle class, improving regulatory frameworks and increased interest from international investors in the sector, the future looks bright for aged care development in the region and ThomsonAdsett is ready to support the region’s growth.
Liza Ringdahl, UDIA Women in Property award winner 11th Jul. 2011
Liza Ringdahl, one of ThomsonAdsett's commercial directors, was recently recognised by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Qld) as having demonstrated Outstanding Achievement in Professional and Development Services at the organisation's annual Women in Property awards.
The UDIA award is designed to recognise women in property who demonstrate an outstanding contribution to the development industry, and their advancements towards changing the face of a traditionally male-dominated sector.
The judges were impressed with Liza's comprehensive management of complex projects under strict and challenging timelines, demonstrating her commitment to project delivery. The judges also noted her strong focus on mentoring team members, and her inspiring leadership qualities.
Head of ThomsonAdsett's commercial discipline Tony Houston hasn’t looked back since he employed Liza as a graduate architect in 2003.
"With her dedication and ability, Liza has shown what it’s possible for an architect to accomplish in a short period of time," said Houston.
"In eight years Liza’s career progression has seen her become a shareholder of the practice, a director of our Commercial division and she now currently sits on our board of directors. She has really shown the way for our younger staff in forging a path to a leadership position at ThomsonAdsett.
"Certainly she proven herself to be an exemplary architect and colleague, and I congratulate her wholeheartedly on this award."
Liza has delivered significant commercial, retail, education and government infrastructure projects throughout Australia. Recent projects include the Collingwood Park Shopping Centre, the Centro Toombul upgrade and a suite of 55 school halls and classroom upgrades as part of the Building the Education Revolution Federal Government programme.
Pictured: Sarah Persijn (HopgoodGanim Lawyers) presenting Liza Ringdahl (ThomsonAdsett) with her award.
New lease on life for historic bridge 28th Apr. 2011
Managing Director of ThomsonAdsett New South Wales, Mr Charles Glanville, will be part of a judging panel for a design competition to upgrade Penrith’s Victoria Bridge. The competition is being held to shape the design direction of the bridge, as part of a $20 million upgrade of the 142 year old structure.
Mr Glanville brings his extensive local design knowledge to the judging process, having lived and practiced architecture in the region for 37 years.
Mr Glanville said the structure of the road bridge over the Nepean River at Penrith has not been changed to respond to increased pedestrian use and as a result, is considered unsafe for pedestrians.
“When the Victoria Bridge was in built in 1869, there were very few people living on the opposite bank to Penrith at Emu Plains. Due to increased population growth, there is now higher use of the pedestrian access over the bridge in both directions,” Mr Glanville said.
“With growing community use of the pedestrian access over the Bridge, it has never been more essential to renew the Bridge’s pedestrian access to ensure safe use,” he said.
Mr Glanville envisions that there is an opportunity for the redesign of the existing bridge to take advantage of the brilliant views of the Nepean River.
“The existing bridge is quite narrow. Trusses about 3m high on both sides, have solid steel infill panels within the triangular shapes of the truss members and consequently does not take advantage of the wonderful views available along the River.”
The Penrith Victoria Bridge Design Competition is the initiative of the Fix Victoria Bridge Community Taskforce, which seeks community insight to update and redesign the oldest existing crossing of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.
“What we’re really looking for is something that might spur the future designers - spur their thinking. It’s out-of-left-field stuff.”
The Fix Victoria Bridge Community Taskforce is part of the New South Wales Government’s plans to renew local infrastructure.
Design gong for new Rockhampton Bridge 16th Mar. 2011
The Australian Institute of Architects' Queensland Chapter recently awarded ThomsonAdsett’s Yaamba Road Pedestrian Overpass a Regional Commendation for design excellence.
The overpass is one of a number of projects around Queensland commissioned by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to provide safe pedestrian access for school students, in this case for students at Emmaus College in North Rockhampton.
The judges noted that "this infrastructure project demonstrates the value of early project involvement of architects allowing the form and urban integration of a traditionally engineering led structure to evolve into a piece of resolved built form. The simple arch engages confidently with the harsh setting it spans whilst enhancing the visual experience for both pedestrians within it and highway users under it. The architectural expression is most successful on the entry stairs and the overall result an enhanced urban experience."