In May this year Woodhead were appointed lead Master Planners and Architects on Minda’s $200m development of its 28Ha site in Brighton, South Australia.
The Woodhead Team is partnering with Minda to fulfil the outcomes and directions from the successful Exploration By Design Workshop, conducted last week. The results of this workshop will assist Woodhead in creating an integrated, affordable, liveable and sustainable coastal urban village that delivers for residents on Minda’s Person Centred Thinking service model of care. Over time, and at a pace suitable to Minda’s residents, a network of new streets, pathways and more useable and activated open spaces will integrate the site with the Brighton community.
Woodhead will be working on the Minda project with sub consultants including:
Jensen Planning + Design
- Taylor Cullity Lethlean
- Artscape
- System Solutions
- Aurecon
- Cundall
- Davis Langdon
Woodhead are committed to delivering on Minda’s vision ‘to maximise choice and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities to achieve their aspirations’. With reference to the Minda Annual Report 2009-10, we appreciate the responsibility to assist Minda to implement the fundamentals of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We understand these fundamentals are driving Minda’s whole of organisation ‘Person Centred Thinking’ approach that will underpin the philosophy and principles embodied in the Master Plan and Architectural Design.
Minda will be a vibrant urban community, which integrates the highest calibre ‘Person Centred Care’ with a mix of new community, residential, retirement and aged care and commercial uses. Safe and dignified village environments will replace facilities that represent models of out-dated care from the middle of last century. Creative and appropriate reuse of the heritage buildings on the site will ensure continuity of character while repositioning ‘institutional’ associations.
Commercial imperatives typically drive the design for property development with social and sustainability secondary considerations unless elevated by market perception. In designing for people with intellectual disabilities we widen the band of who we are designing for from able bodied, voting and tax paying people to designing for all. We appreciate the opportunity before us to create a coastal urban village that delivers a universal and inclusive place to live relative to expanded choices, youth facilities, access and the ability to age in place.
The Woodhead Team comprises:
- Karl Traeger – Principal – Master Plan & Architectural Design Director
- Myles Croser – Project Leader
- Joe Vorrasi – Person Centred Thinking client liaison
- Ben Mountford – Architectural Design and Visualisation
- Kate Colligan – Project Architect & Sustainability
- James Martin – Project Architect
- Doug Gardner – Residential Project Leader Technical
- Robin Muir – Project Architect – Retirement & Aged Care
- Derek Pitt – Retirement & Aged Care Portfolio Leader – Input & Review
- Richard Huxley – Residential Portfolio Leader – Input & Review
Below is the Special Communique from Minda’s CEO, Cathy Miller
Brighton Master Plan Update
Following last night’s Special Meeting of the Minda Association, I am excited to provide you all with an update on Minda’s Brighton Master Plan and an outline of the project milestones we have so far achieved.
In recent months, we have appointed Executive Project Director, Roddy Clark, to oversee the Master Plan development and we have also appointed the project team – including architects, Woodhead.
I would like to thank Roddy and the entire Master Plan project team for the terrific work they are doing in working towards transforming Minda’s Master Plan concept into reality.
We have resolved the sand dune issue, which has been the topic of intense interest with the community, Local Government and environmental groups. Following extensive consultation, during which we listened to the community and carefully considered all of our options, we have decided we will not build on the undeveloped secondary sand dune at our Brighton campus as part of the Master Plan redevelopment.
As you would be aware, Minda’s existing Brighton site has expanded incrementally over many years, resulting in a disjointed development that no longer meets the needs of the people we support.
The Master Plan is designed to provide new accommodation, work and lifestyle options for many of the 1500 people with an intellectual disability who are supported by Minda.
At the heart of the proposed development is the concept of replacing the old-style, outdated accommodation currently available to residents living on site with villages of modern homes accommodating between one and five people per dwelling.
Our Master Plan embodies our aspirations of continuing to provide world-leading services that deliver extraordinary outcomes to improve the lives of the people we support.
Offsetting the $180-$200 million cost of the Master Plan will be a series of new commercial developments, including a retirement village, retirement apartments and a commercial health precinct, which will be located on the Brighton campus.
Minda will retain ownership of the entire 28 hectare site and our administrative functions will remain at Brighton.
Detailed planning will be finalised in the coming months and further community consultation will be undertaken as part of the approval process.
Initial construction work of the planning-compliant Stage 1 is expected to start by late 2011. Stage 1 will include accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities, the first stage of the retirement village and an extension of the Pat Kaufmann Centre.
I am excited to be able to share this fantastic news with you. Once the details of the Master Plan have been finalised, I will be in a position to give some indication of what this vibrant new community may look like.
In the meantime, if you have any queries regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Cathy Miller
Chief Executive Officer
