Builders, designers and the community are being invited to nominate projects for the 2006 National Lifestyle Housing for Seniors Award, in a joint initiative between Master Builders Australia and the Federal Department of Health and Ageing to encourage more builders and designers to deliver high quality, practical and liveable family homes that are adaptable to the changing lifestyles and needs of older Australians.
Master Builders Australia Chief Executive, Wilhelm Harnisch said that as the Australian population is maturing, it is "bringing with it new challenges to the building and construction industry to design, construct and refurbish the family home that better suits older Australians so that they can live independently for a longer period of time and not have to move to residential aged care facilities."
"The need to provide more age-friendly designs and building options for older Australians is becoming increasingly urgent and cannot be met by simply following standard design practices of the past," Mr Harnisch said.
There will be two Award categories: one for purpose-built owner-occupied dwellings including townhouses and apartments, and the other covering existing owner-occupied homes which have been purposely extended or modified.
Mr Harnisch said that Master Builders is working with the different governments to develop voluntary, nationally consistent standards for adaptable homes.
"Federal and State Governments are moving to identify exactly what standards should be included but it is important that these standards should be voluntary and the result of broad consultations with older people in the community," he said.
"From a building industry perspective the development of voluntary performance measures for adaptable age-friendly homes will better deliver designs to suit the needs of individual households."
