Sargood on Collaroy was designed by WMK Architecture to create a world-class health and wellness resort designed to support individuals with major spine injuries.
It was created to provide a holistic approach to health and wellness in order to help those with spinal injuries best manage their life, deal with the physical and psychological scars they face, and reconnect into the community.
WMK Managing Director Greg Barnett said the architectural approach to Sargood on Collaroy was as far from a traditional institutional facility as imaginable.
“The built environment has a profound psychological impact on quality of life,” he said
“If it looked like a hospital, felt like a hospital or smelt like a hospital we would have failed in our job.”
he external architecture aims to compliment the landscape rather than dominate it, like the resort’s individual linear roofs that mimic the crest of a wave, building into a crescendo to the tallest roof which signals the entry to the facility. The sophisticated dark charcoal colour of the roofs contrast pleasingly with the pale-colour masonry base, and the commercial grade materials used will ensure minimal maintenance.
The 17 individual villas were built to feel like five-star hotel suites, with advanced technology making life for guests as easy as possible. Each is around 50-60 square metres and has furniture that is both fashionable and practical, being able to be adjusted to different heights in order to meet the custom requirements of each user.
“We followed no rule book, gaining much of our inspiration from listening to, and interacting with, end-users,” Mr Barnett said.
Sargood on Collaroy contains a contemporary lobby and reception area, a communal lounge, gymnasium, rooms for administration, seminars, rehabilitation and training purposes, and a basement for car parking and ambulance access.
A landscaped central courtyard offers a feeling of serenity, and an expansive north-facing terrace provides views of the beach and children’s playground – a panoramic vista normally the domain of society’s most fortunate.
The facility was designed to bring the community in, with celebrity cooking classes, community training facilities, and the ability to accommodate for visiting families.
View Original