CASE STUDY 15 The pool is also located nearby;


“unlike many indoor pools,” Lara tells me, “it is flooded with light from windows above and to the side.” A gym, featuring specialist Helsinki University Research (HUR) equipment is also located here, adjacent to the pool. Lastly, before she shows me one of the


few unoccupied homes in the facility, we take the lift down to the attached nursing home located on a lower floor, providing “reassurance of care (if required),” while domiciliary care is also available in the retirement apartments themselves. The care home – called The Albert


Suites – is almost as deceptive as the retirement community. While its function is necessarily more


clinical than its counterpart, like the retirement home, the nursing home is bright and airy, offering both comfort and style – in its own restaurant for example – environmental quality has not been sacrificed for those in greater need. One of the main benefits of the


attached care home, says Lara, as separate as it is, is the future-proofing aspect for residents. Even without enter- ing care, she tells me that in the retirement section, the services can grow with their needs and health, but when it comes to it, having a care home on site is a far smaller upheaval. Lara tells me about one couple who


shared a flat upstairs that found a real benefit here; one partner had to enter care, but was able to do so just downstairs from their partner, with visitation as easy as pushing a button on the lift.


PLANNING HURDLES As we head back through these various amenities towards the show apartment, Lara tells me of the brand’s history, and how, drawing on 35 years’ experience of owning and operating international retirement communities, LifeCare Residences (LCR) founder Cliff Cook “recognised the need for high-quality retirement accommodation in London.” The development’s head of sales


continues: “In Battersea he saw the ideal location to deliver LCR’s concept of providing a rich and fulfilling quality of life admit a thriving community.” She explains that before Battersea


Place took form, the site was previously occupied by Ralph West Hall, which was a single 10-storey building providing accommodation to students at the University of Surrey. In 2007, LCR purchased the site on


Albert Bridge Road, but the project wasn’t without its barriers in its early days. “We acquired the site with the princi-


ple of residential development having been established through earlier planning decisions,” says Lara. “There was a huge amount of local


opposition to the redevelopment of Ralph West Hall; however, at that time Wandsworth were very accommodating of our form of accommodation, recognis- ing the benefits of providing residential properties alongside care to local people.” With Wandsworth’s support, the team,


including architect Powell Dobson, Tracy Leach of Icon Interiors, Vinci Construction for the build, and SLW undertaking project management, then achieved a C2 planning permission for the redevelopment of the site to provide a retirement community plus full onsite nursing care. The sales director is however very


clear in describing LCR’s leading role in the project: “We are in the position of both developer and long-term owner/operator of the project, and we took a very close monitoring role over everything. Vinci Construction had a design and build contract, and we also kept a close relationship with them throughout the project.” She tells me that construction then


started in 2013, the demolition of all existing structures being required before work began, and the project reached completion in 2016 – with the builder Vinci selecting a concrete frame solution with post-tensioned floor slabs on a contiguous piled retaining wall and external steel balconies fixed to the slab.


A HOME FOR LIFE I was also able to view a show apart- ment, and like the rest of the building, the apartments themselves are somewhat glamorous. It is easy to forget – with the range of attention-grabbing amenities – that Battersea Place is also a permanent home to many. As I am guided around the show flat


by Lara – providing space enviable for generations beneath its target audience – she says it has been intentionally put together in a ‘multi-generational’ style, “but with the added design considera- tions necessary for retirees” – and this is clear; if it weren’t for the safety cord in the wetroom it would hard to separate it from any luxury inner-city flat. According to Lara, the apartment’s


interior design is also intended to “juxtapose contemporary design with classic elegance, and harness open plan living to create a fluid, versatile space,” along with the “elegant furnishings” that add to the sense of luxury. As she puts it, the “apartments were


discreetly adapted to cater to the retire- ment community demographic, without


compromising on specification.” There are of course many design


considerations necessary when building for the elderly. Some of the less obvious, but important features that Lara shows me include raised height ovens and appliances, wide corridors and doorways, plus a 24-hour call system. Another benefit that Lara points out is


the peace of mind for family members – when worried, they can simply call the concierge at any time of day, who will promptly send a member of staff to check on them. She says that residents’ safety is of


course paramount in all aspects of the building, which is apparent in its design, from perhaps smaller issues of mobility tackled by level thresholds created wherever possible (including into balconies and external areas generally), to more serious health issues which the onsite nursing home is well-equipped to deal with. Long or short term nursing rehabilitation and convalescence are offered where needed. “Each resident has a personal swipe


card that gives them access to the building and to their apartment,” continues Lara. “All doors and windows have wireless detectors, so the building management is fully aware of what is happening around the site,” supple- mented by a CCTV system with cameras at key points around the development.


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