Best retirement housing design for Global Awards shortlisted
LONDON: 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 below.
Tim O’Brien AM and his wife Francine built the home at 32 Mills Rd 18 years ago, with Mr O’Brien saying the property was ahead of its time.
“It’s got a contemporary feel throughout – Ken Milne and Tony Zappia were the architects and it’s as it was 18 years ago,” he says.
“It’s held its years well – probably better than its owner.
“We had a house about 100m away that was on about 17 acres that we’d built 25 years before this one and had four children all at home and they later departed to go to university.
“It was just my wife and I here so we downsized and created this place.
“This one has elevation out across the entire valley towards the river and that’s the great attraction – the whole front is glass overlooking this beautiful valley – and it just suited us tremendously well.”
The home. which is on the market, has up to four bedrooms, or three and a study.
The master suite features an ensuite, a walk-in robe and access to a spa room.
A spacious open-plan kitchen, living and dining room is the heart of the home and opens out to both a spacious balcony for seamless indoor-outdoor entertaining, and also to a lounge with a fireplace.
“It’s a great entertainer – there’s a very large deck out the front and to the side and there’s ample room, and it really has a wonderful indoor/outdoor capability which is something people love in the modern era of houses, but back then it was not so common,” Mr O’Brien says.
“It’s got limitless potential for entertaining on that indoor/outdoor basis.”
Below the main living area is a three-car garage, a workshop, a cool room and three rainwater tanks, as well as a large storage room.
“We run the house off rainwater and it fits into the environment and tries not to dominate it, although it’s obviously got a presence about it,” Mr O’Brien says.
With the time now having come to downsize, the couple will miss enormously both the home and the town Mr O’Brien has served, saying the property would be ideal for retired farmers or a young family.
“We’ll be very sad to leave it, but three of our children are in Adelaide,” Mr O’Brien says. “We’ve been here in Berri for 52 years and my wife thinks I’ve been plying the trade of the law here for long enough, so we’re moving closer to the city.”
The Global Award winner will be announced in December in London. (Globals)
