A livable housing design becomes one of the main considerations when it comes to retirement living options.

A livable home is designed to built to meet the changing needs of residents across their lifetime. 

Livable homes include key easy living features that make them easier and safer to use for all occupants including; people living with a disability, older people and people with temporary injuries.

A livable home is designed to be:

• Easy to enter
• Easy to navigate in and around
• Capable of easy and cost effective adaption, and
• Responsive to the changing needs of the home’s residents.

Liveable homes enhance the quality of life of all residents at all stages of their life.

What are the benefits of a livable designed home?

Residents and their visiting friends and families can benefit from homes designed with comfort, safety and ease of access as core design features.

These features make it easier to manoeuvre mobility aids like walkers, gophers or wheelchairs, easier to carry the shopping into the apartment, easier for people with a disability or temporary injury to get around and easier to move furniture.

Core design elements of a livable designed home

The seven core design elements in the Silver level are:

1. A safe continuous and step free path of travel from the street entrance to a dwelling entrance that is level.
2. At least one, level (step-free) entrance into the home.
3. Internal doors and corridors that facilitate comfortable and unimpeded movement between spaces.
4. A toilet that provides easy access.
5. A bathroom that contains a hobless shower recess.
6. Reinforced walls around the toilet, shower and bath to support the safe installation of grab rails if and when needed.
7. Stairways designed to reduce likelihood of injury and enable future adaption.
8. Platinum rated homes have further enhanced design elements for accessibility and livability around the living room, floor coverings, light switches, laundry and kitchen spaces, doorways and windows.