Karen Davis, principal at CDA Architects and Tasmanian president of the Australian Institute of Architects, has been a jury member of the RAIA Tasmanian Chapter awards since 1990.
Davis is a graduate of the University of Queensland where she spent her formative years on a number of multi-million dollar commercial developments including the Museum and Art Gallery development and the Myer Centre in Brisbane.
She has worked extensively in aged care design and commercial interiors.
Architecture & Design spoke to Davis about aged care facilities in Tasmania, why she's an architect and not a surgeon and why colour is so important in aged care facilities.
How would you describe the approach to architecture in Tasmania?
I think Tasmanian architecture is very much driven by the climate and budget. As Tasmanian architects we are used to having to get as much as possible from very little and to be imaginative in the way in which our projects are procured. A common response to Tasmanian architecture is that it is well considered and well detailed.
Climate also plays a very large part in what is produced here. It is cold for nine months of the year. Passive warmth is very important in winter and high levels of insulation and double glazing are all the norm now.
Is there anything you would like to see changed?
I think we have a frustration that our budgets are always so tight! We look at projects on the mainland and say “if only…”! In terms of the construction industry at the moment, Tasmania is very quiet and I feel that the government has not seen this and is not offering any support (they have no money of course).
I think this is the case nationally. In the case of the previous spending by the federal government that amount of money could have been spread over five years and potentially flattened this downward trend that it in theory could have been averted. But all it did was delay it.
Tasmania does not typically rise as far or fall as low as the rest of the country but I am seeing conditions now similar to those of 17 or 18 years ago when it was very quiet in the building industry. This is happening this time because the banks are still not lending money as before and this reflects in house building and commercial projects simply being shelved or not even being considered.
We are also seeing some impact from the new Premises Act and its requirements causing issues with the adaptation of older building stock. In many cases the economics of the access requirements make conversions impossible in a commercial sense for what would be small projects.
What type of approach do you like to take with aged care facilities?
My approach to aged care facilities has been two fold. One, get as much as possible within the budget, Two, make what is effectively a commercial building feel as home-like as possible.
Aged care facilities are not only for the residents but also the staff who work in them and the families that visit. It is therefore really important that the scale of the buildings is not too large. If it is a large development then both internally and externally we break down the scale by the use of texture, materials and colour. We use colour for wayfinding and scale reduction.
We also try to make the bedrooms and bathrooms as individual as possible with the use of colour on the walls and floor in both carpets and vinyl selections.
Stathaven Nursing Home, Berriedale Tasmania by CDA.(left and below)
Do you think aged care facilities today are well-designed?
I have visited a number of aged care residences around the world, including the UK, Switzerland, Canada and the US. I would say that in Tasmania we are ahead of the pack, even within Australia. On a national scale current Tasmanian aged care facilities rank very highly.
Facilities are generally single bedrooms with private ensuites, have access to gardens and social living and dining areas and areas of quiet retreat outside of bedrooms.
Facilites no longer feel like hospitals and should not have the necessary 'hospital items' on display. There has been a large amount of research about what makes people happy or content and it is very important to meet these aspirations in the design of the facilities. Homeliness is the most important factor and a sense of belonging and comfort.
What are you favourite types of projects to work on?
I love working on houses as these are very individual and to have a satisfied client that has received something that not only meets all their expectations but exceeds them is very rewarding.
I also enjoy the work in aged care as it is very challenging in as much as we have commercial kitchens and laundries, hospital type sanitary requirements and need to make them feel like they are domestic. Often the planning can be challenging, depending on the site and whether or not we are working on an existing home or building a new one.
Queenborough Rise Nursing home, Sandy Bay Tas.
What project are you proudest of?
The Queenborough Rise aged care facility which we did for Uniting Aged Care. It is a 60 bed nursing home and 20 independent living units on a quite tight site in Sandy Bay.
The facility has a very efficient plan and is modern, spacious and light but still feels small scale and welcoming.
We enjoyed using colour to enliven spaces and to provide wayfinding.
The gardens were an integral part of the design as the site borders on public bush parkland which also meant the building had to comply with the bushfire standards making some of the requirements reasonably onerous.
The home enjoys excellent occupancy for both the nursing Home and the Ilu’s. And still looks as good as new four years on.
If you weren’t an architect, what would you be doing?
My whole youth I wanted to be a surgeon but in the end I did not have the right marks in the right subjects to get into medicine. I was better at art than physics! Although, of course, all the sciences get used when you are an architect as well – acoustics, lighting and the chemical science of materials. I was also very good at economics for some reason so maybe I would have been an economist working in the world bank.
