The Village Centre building forms the heart of the new Lauriston Park retirement village. The client’s vision called for the development of resort style retirement village for independent living. It should offer a sense of belonging to the residents, through a high quality environment and will create a desirable place to live, now and well into the future.

The Village Centre has a gross floor area of 1195 m2 and houses many of the amenities available to the residents: swimming pool & spa, gym, multi-function room, dining room & kitchen, lounge, hairdresser salon and reception with adjoining administration area. The staff amenities and technical plant are located on a mezzanine level.

The central position of the building enables easy access for all residents and forms an instantly recognizable entry point to the village. The slightly lower position on the hillside allows the existing historic villa to retain its dominant position on the site.

Building volumes and glazed areas are positioned to frame external and internal views of the most notable site features: the historic homestead to the south, the mature grove of trees to the east and the open space on the north side. The building mass is broken into separate volumes and long elevations cannot be seen completely from outside the site boundaries. The cladding choices are of significance to the site: the previous owners were once holders of the nearby Hinuera quarry which supplied the sandstone, while the timber slats reference the town’s close connection with trees and farming.

Each individual function and the space it occupies were carefully considered in terms of orientation, natural & artificial lighting, acoustics, colour, and materiality. The main atrium space links all functions and reinforces the north-south site axis through the virtual extension of the green spaces located immediately to the north and to the south of the building.

Sustainable and energy efficient design has been a priority and will help the operator to minimize running costs. Some of the features included are:
• Solar gain consideration, thermal modeling, e-glass and wind lobbies.
• Re-use of collected rainwater for pool top-up, toilet flushing and irrigation.
• Dedicated pool heat recovery plant.
• High efficiency air handling, air conditioning and lighting systems.
• Single natural gas condensing boiler for all hot water requirements.

The building meets the client’s visionary brief for a sector-leading facility and has been very well received by the residents. The best proof is the high usage rate of all facilities and activities provided.

The architectural language is deliberately contemporary, dynamic and dissimilar to the existing homestead and the residential component of the village, providing also a point of difference to other retirement villages.

Through architecture we endeavoured to provide a unique setting and facility, a modern agora that will hopefully enhance the residents’ sense of pride and belonging to the community and therefore enable them to enjoy their retirement to the full.