Regional Prize 2011, Victorian Architecture Awards

Most Outstanding Ecologically Sustainable Lifestyle Village 
2010 Australasian Over 50's Housing Awards

Dalkeith Heights is a new socially and ecologically sustainable lifestyle village in Traralgon, Victoria. The clients have a vision to create a state of the art new community that will set a new standard in lifestyle options for the Latrobe Valley region. We have been engaged to provide master planning, urban design and architecture that achieves their vision.

The $40 Million project includes over 150 houses, 18 assisted apartments, and a community building offering resort style amenities. Buildings are designed to be energy efficient, low carbon, and environmentally friendly.

The Community Building is the modern, welcoming heart of the new community. It is a multi-purpose building with many lifestyle and health features including bar, restaurant, cafe, cinema, gym, pool, doctors rooms, pharmacy and hairdresser. A warm, modern style has been created for the building, demonstrating that architecture for older citizens does not always have to feel old to be successful.

The buiding has been designed to create a sheltered north facing courtyard around a grand old redgum tree. As the village develops, lawn bowls, bocce and a village green will become extensions to the courtyard to complete the active, social hub of the new community.

The social and environmental aspirations of Dalkeith Heights are embedded in this new building. Socially, it is designed to be activated by its many functions all opening onto its central couryard. Environmentally, it has been designed to minimise its environmental impact in design, construction and operation. Timber framing has been employed to minimise structural steel in the building, and the design is tailored to the site to protect from sun and wind. High levels of insulation and thermal mass have been incorporated within the building to provide superior levels of energy efficiency, and lower operating costs.

In awarding the Regional Prize 2011, the Victorian Architecture Awards jury gave this citation: 'Offering a vibrant place for communal activity within a retirement village and catering for multiple levels of dependence, this building sets a new standard of architectural excellence for its type in the region.'

Photography: UA Creative