St Mary’s Health Services
St Marys Health Services converts a disused industrial building into a series of calm activity spaces for multi disabled teenagers. Drawing on a muted material palette, the interior creates a safe space for after school programs, holiday programs, and respite care, tailored to the specific needs of the user group.
The brief called for a disability-friendly interior finished with comforting materials to help moderate user behaviour and prevent over-stimulation. Injuries were to be minimised by avoiding sharp edges and loose items, with the ambition to create sensorial environments that felt robust, calming, and safe to all users.
The designer sought to soften the rectilinear building using curved wall planes, guiding an intuitive visitor journey from arrival to departure. A sweeping wall separates the amenities and therapy zones from an expansive shared space for class-based activities, while the reception, offices and mezzanine stair are relaxed with radiused wall profiles. Circular and arched motifs are echoed in a new steel-framed glass façade, interior windows, furniture, and bespoke recessed shelving niches, effectively binding each space with a gentle visual language.
These gestures are enhanced by a neutral material palette of warm grey, white, sage green, and bleached timber, effectively soothing visitors. Grey speckled vinyl flooring crafts a seamless grain, while perforated corrugated ceiling panels appear to float above the site’s steel ceiling trusses. Groups of large paper pendants humanise the scale of the lofty building, with a ribbon of LED string lights lending an ambient light quality across the centre’s shared zone.
With numerous care facilities for adults and children in Melbourne, St Marys Health Services addresses a gap in the healthcare market by offering a dedicated space for teenagers to enjoy age-appropriate activities such as dancing, playing, and socialising. The sophisticated interior is equitably designed to encourage visitor autonomy, liberating visitors to confidently navigate the space on their own terms. The success of the project has driven the client to consider other initiatives for multi disabled teenagers, such as independent housing that will allow users to experience a full quality of life outside their family homes.
Photographer
Tom Ross
St Mary’s Health Services
St Mary’s Health Services
St Marys Health Services converts a disused industrial building into a series of calm activity spaces for multi disabled teenagers. Drawing on a muted material palette, the interior creates a safe space for after school programs, holiday programs, and respite care, tailored to the specific needs of the user group.
The brief called for a disability-friendly interior finished with comforting materials to help moderate user behaviour and prevent over-stimulation. Injuries were to be minimised by avoiding sharp edges and loose items, with the ambition to create sensorial environments that felt robust, calming, and safe to all users.
The designer sought to soften the rectilinear building using curved wall planes, guiding an intuitive visitor journey from arrival to departure. A sweeping wall separates the amenities and therapy zones from an expansive shared space for class-based activities, while the reception, offices and mezzanine stair are relaxed with radiused wall profiles. Circular and arched motifs are echoed in a new steel-framed glass façade, interior windows, furniture, and bespoke recessed shelving niches, effectively binding each space with a gentle visual language.
These gestures are enhanced by a neutral material palette of warm grey, white, sage green, and bleached timber, effectively soothing visitors. Grey speckled vinyl flooring crafts a seamless grain, while perforated corrugated ceiling panels appear to float above the site’s steel ceiling trusses. Groups of large paper pendants humanise the scale of the lofty building, with a ribbon of LED string lights lending an ambient light quality across the centre’s shared zone.
With numerous care facilities for adults and children in Melbourne, St Marys Health Services addresses a gap in the healthcare market by offering a dedicated space for teenagers to enjoy age-appropriate activities such as dancing, playing, and socialising. The sophisticated interior is equitably designed to encourage visitor autonomy, liberating visitors to confidently navigate the space on their own terms. The success of the project has driven the client to consider other initiatives for multi disabled teenagers, such as independent housing that will allow users to experience a full quality of life outside their family homes.
Photographer
Tom Ross