The Walumba Elders Centre, an aged-care facility in the remote outback town of Warmun in northern Western Australia, was named winner in the Health Buildings category at the recent World Architecture Festival.

The World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest and most prestigious architectural competition.

Australian architects Iredale Pederson Hook designed the facility after the town was destroyed by floods in 2011.

The architects worked closely with community elders to design the building around the town's social and cultural needs. The building complies with the regulatory requirements for an Aged Care Centre.

The building manages a number of complex factors such as access to outdoor space, enabling ceremonies that may include fire and smoke, and facilitating the important role elders play in the community.

The building is a home for residents, but also contains a commercial kitchen for a ‘meals-on-wheels’ service, has an internal laundry, generous open verandahs, and a central, open communal space.

Read more:

Are we age-ist?