The Orchards Retirement Village by CHT Architects

Built-work evidence

The public project views show the residential and shared-space character of the scheme, from night-time arrival to communal interiors.

The Orchards is designed as a contemporary retirement community rather than a dated care setting.

Shared lounge space supports the hospitality and community side of the later-living brief.

Dining and social facilities help the project work as a village, not only as accommodation.

How the masterplan works

The Orchards was created with Baptcare and developed as a three-stage masterplan. The plan has been reviewed through feedback from residents, sales agents, operators and other experts, which matters on a later-living scheme where the brief has to work in daily use.

• Stage One includes the residential aged care facility and shared facilities.
• Shared spaces include a cafe, providore, lounge, bar, outdoor dining, pool, gym, healthcare rooms and vertical gardens.
• Stage Two provides 33 modern one, two and three-bedroom retirement apartments.
• Stage Three adds 52 retirement villa units.
• The wider idea is continuity: residents can remain in a familiar community as their needs change.

Why this matters for later-living design

A retirement village can fail when it treats later life as one fixed condition. The Orchards is more interesting because it recognises change: independence, support, community, hospitality and care all need to sit near each other.

That makes the project useful as a design and operational case study. Architecture, interiors, care services and management have to work together.

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Showcase a later-living or community project

If your built project deals with ageing, care, community or residential wellbeing, make the user journey and operational idea clear.

• Explain who uses the project and how needs change over time.
• Show how private homes connect to shared amenities.
• Make care, access and community part of the design story.
• Use project facts and stage information where they help readers understand the brief.

Submit your project

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Architecture Social view

Stephen’s recruiter view is that later-living architecture needs both empathy and logistics. A good project should read as humane, but also operationally credible.