ANAM CARA HOUSE GEELONG (ACHG)
DESIGNING COMPASSIONATE SPACES

Anam Cara House is a community hospice, providing day and overnight palliative respite and end of life care,  in a home like environment, staffed by skilled nurses and palliative trained volunteers.

Anam Cara House is a place for physical, emotional and spiritual care. The architectural form of the new centre represents this philosophy of care. The two linear wings of the building work with the contours and fall of the land; with the residential wing capturing views to the south to the surrounding hills and the community hub and infrastructure wing to the north. The two wings are like a pair of caring hands that cradle the care activity and landscaped courtyard gardens within.

Anam Cara House includes a 20 bed overnight service; day hospice; community hub; and with partnerships in education and community. The new service is located on 2 hectares of open farm land within the grounds of Deakin University, Waurn Ponds.

The architectural design challenge was to design a home-like, family friendly, human scale experience for guests while meeting acute hospital standards, including infection prevention and OH&S considerations. 

An extensive and collaborative consultation process including the ACHG Board, staff, families, community organisations, specialists and Tectura health and space planning architects resulted in  a brief with a number of broad planning design principles.

Design principles included separating the residential areas from day areas, with day services providing community, resources and therapeutic services; residential areas are grouped to increase privacy, with a series of intimate spaces and small group spaces for sharing food; a larger communal library is accessible for residential and day guests; and the overall design maximises natural light and horizon views to the natural landscape.

Extensive gardens are designed with a journey in mind and include an indigenous cultural garden as well as natives and exotic species familiar to home gardens. 

Anam Cara House Geelong has a gracious, new home that affords opportunities for smaller or larger family groups in a range of indoor and outdoor settings, that meet privacy, comfort and health care standards.

Our design process demonstrates the benefits of taking time to reflect and review the model of care and briefing with our clients in detail. 

PROJECT