Saddler’s Retreat

This Saddler’s Retreat project is a therapeutic landscape for an Aged Care Facility

The Saddlers Retreat project provides for a range of therapeutic landscapes within an Aged Care Facility in Kelmscott. The design physically and visually draws the surrounding riverine environment into a series of private courtyards that allow residents to engage with nature and the outdoors in safe and stimulating ways. Endemic vegetation complexes are set amongst productive landscape elements to link familiar and treasured cultural heritage with the natural systems of the site.

In addition to providing a variety of healing, stimulating and safe landscape settings for the residents, the proposal integrates ecological restoration to restore a section of the Canning River foreshore.

Key outcomes

• Provision of a landscape concept that prioritises the well-being of the elderly residents of a long-term care environment
• Provision of a dementia-friendly environment
• Development of an integrated landscape architecture and ecological restoration proposal that sensitively capitalises on the site’s riverine location.
• Provision of an immersive landscape design proposal that is inherently linked to the natural systems of the area (water, soils, vegetation, sun, light, shade, wind) that considers sensory richness, shade, shelter, spatial variety, wandering paths and moments of distraction.