At the Annual Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner at The Star Sydney on 2nd December, Harbison was announced as the winner of the 2021 Excellence in Aged Care award for the design of Harbison Dementia Living in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
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Designed by Calder Flower Architects and built by KELA Building Group, the award-winning home for people living with dementia was opened in 2020 during the bushfire crisis, by Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales and Patron of Harbison.
In fact, among the first residents of the new home were some residents from other aged care providers who were forced to evacuate and take shelter at Harbison as the fires advanced.
"The judges agreed wholeheartedly that if dementia care was required for their relatives, that Harbison in Burradoo would be the most suitable facility," UDIA NSW judges said in presenting the award.
"The cottage community is an outstanding example of how peace and tranquillity can provide enrichment to those needing care. While many facilities that were visited provided a range of outdoor spaces, Harbison actively promotes outdoor activity for their guests, and this connection with the elements and nature generates a calm that prevails."
"Harbison Dementia Living expresses the principles on which Harbison care is founded: human rights, person-centred care, re-enablement, ageing-in-place, and integrated care," Harbison CEO, David Cochran said.
"We set out to provide people living with dementia with a compelling alternative to their own home: a supportive, dementia-friendly living environment based on a small-scale, homelike design.
"Each household is designed to promote access to the extensive country gardens and make it easy to navigate to and from the communal living room, dining room, lounge, kitchen, and laundry. At Harbison we take a strength-based approach by focusing on ability.
"That's why the residents of Harbison Dementia Living are supported to participate in routine daily activities like meals, laundry, and gardening as much as they wish.
"We are grateful to UDIA NSW for recognising the careful, evidence-based design with the Excellence in Aged Care award this year.
"We have carried these same award-winning principles to our recently refurbished Moss Vale home and believe that the accumulated age- and dementia-friendly design expertise of our team will benefit our community for many years to come."
Katie Constantinou, Chair of the Harbison Board of Directors, echoed Mr Cochran's thoughts.
"Harbison Dementia Living is the culmination of hard work, over a number of years, and a great collaborative team - from the architects, builder and, of course, Harbison's management and staff," she said.
"We are delighted that UDI NSW has recognised the dementia and age-friendly environment that has been created here.
"But it is not just about the innovative building, technology and gardens; it is about the inclusive, respectful and enriching community Harbison continues to build for older people living in the Southern Highlands. That was, and continues to be, Harbison's focus."
Lara Calder from Calder Flower Architects said Harbison had been put through a rigorous testing process.
"These Awards recognise and reward excellence and innovation across a wide range of categories, including the latest in technology, sustainability, environmental preservation and cutting-edge marketing for residential, industrial and commercial development," she explained.
"Nominees undergo a rigorous process of assessment and evaluation by our independent judges and distinguished industry leaders. Winners are widely acknowledged by the media, community, and peers.
"For us, as architects who work in the aged care space, it is an important recognition of the value of quality design (architecture and Interiors) for ageing communities where full-time care and accommodation is provided.
"It is important for the sector that these developments are valued by the wider public and that they are seen as good places to live."
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