Aged Care Services are set to rise at a robust rate over the next 5 years in New Zealand and Australia. Community-based models of care and living are increasing in demand. At the forefront of this is Metlifecare Retirement Villages.

Gulf Rise is their new precinct based in Red Beach on North Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast, which welcomed its first residents in late 2019. When building community-based care villages for the ageing population, there are some key considerations needed when selecting the right building and construction materials for this demographic.

“It’s about trying to rethink retirement living and how to design the landscape areas so they accommodate more community interaction, socialising and other activities, particularly in the outdoor spaces. We needed to ensure a mix of different housing styles like units, villas and multi-storey apartment blocks for different age groups and abilities,” said the Landscape Architect from Boffa Miskell Auckland, Emma Todd. An important part of these villages is the outdoor space so that residents can enjoy outdoor environments without feeling trapped inside smaller dwellings.

“The patios are particularly important, to have both a front and back access so that residents can access surrounding gardens, and also we really needed them to be accessible,” said Emma. This is where Outdure came in: “We needed a solution that was flush, so no transition from floor to patio.” Outdure’s QwickBuild is the only decking system that provides a low-height, level, and stable solution to support decking, tiles, turf, or a combination of all three.

As a floating floor system, it can be installed over waterproof membranes and as a sub-frame over concrete, pavers, or natural ground – all while achieving a perfectly straight flush finish.

Emma had heard good feedback about Outdure’s eco decking products and was considering hardwood or pine decking. “We started looking at the Outdure tiled surfaces, which looks really lovely in the porcelain paver tile, which we opted for over the decking, as it tied in nicely with the architecture. It’s less slippery, requires less maintenance, and produced a really good outcome, and the tiles were really cost-effective too!”

Emma went on to say, “Our challenge was to find a solution where we wouldn’t have to put in channel drains everywhere, as this was one of the building’s requirements. This is another major reason we used Outdure’s product”. The QwickBuild aluminium joists and bearers provide a floating deck option, which means that it’s not cemented into the ground, allowing for flexibility and space underneath the surface.

“We’ve actually put the Outdure decking system in our office now too. It’s a quick and effective decking system!” says Emma. “Our challenge now is to keep that same high standard of decking for our future projects; they look so good!”.

If you’re looking for a decking system, check out Outdure as it makes deck installation fast, easy and, efficient. Get in touch with us today for more information.