Design, Illustration and Architecture

Villa Maria Wantirna Nursing Home
at Williams Boag Architects

The project is a 96 bed nursing home, an adult day care / disability support facility (500M2), a rehabilitation facility (500M2), a commercial kitchen and a chapel. The total floor area is 10,146M2, and the construction cost was $32m + GST. The project ran from 2008-2012 and the builder was Grocon.

As an employee of Williams Boag Architects, I undertook the role of Project Leader, and was the key consultant on the project.

It was a complex project due to the challenging brief, the regulatory context, the impact of planning delays and the GFC, and issues with the client negotiated construction contract.

The building is constructed of exposed precast concrete, glass, perforated metal, polycarbonate sheet, a metal roof, with coloured fibre cement soffits and balcony reveals.

The building is modern in character, especially for a nursing home, and the user feedback was very positive.

Interiors and Layout

The internal layout of nursing homes and healthcare facilities are heavily regulated, especially in such a big building, and so it took a lot of design and documentation work to get the layout working. The client was consulted on all aspects of the project, and each element was carefully set out.

The interiors feature large external windows, and clean modern finishes balanced by patterned fabrics and soft furnishings. Beside each nursing home door is a glass display cabinet for personal items, which also serves as a memory box for dementia patients, and it is great to see how the residents have filled these with photos, football scarves and other items.