The Orchards by CHT Architects is a retirement village design that brings independent living, residential aged care and shared facilities into one connected community.
The useful lesson is the whole-of-ageing approach. Instead of asking residents to leave their community when care needs change, the project builds that transition into the masterplan.
Watch: Architecture Social video
This Architecture Social video adds useful context before the practical guidance below.
Built-work evidence
The public project views show the residential and shared-space character of the scheme, from night-time arrival to communal interiors.
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.
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.
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.
Next step
Browse more built project showcases or submit your own architecture project.
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