National lifestyle housing for seniors awards

Master Builders Australia is calling for nominations for the 2009 National Lifestyle Housing for Seniors Awards. The Awards are sponsored by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, and acknowledge builders and designers who 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 “the Australian population is maturing and 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,” he said.

The 2009 Master Builders Australia National Lifestyle Housing for Seniors Award will be presented at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast in November.

“The Awards recognise the growing awareness and acceptance of residential dwellings that provide a range of lifestyle options for older Australians. There will be two Award categories: purpose-built owner-occupied dwellings including townhouses and apartments, and the other covering existing owner-occupied homes which have been purposely extended or modified,” said Mr Harnisch.

“Master Builders invites builders and designers to nominate their project for the 2009 National Lifestyle Housing for Seniors Award”.