Woodside Care Village wins regional LABC award
An innovative Warwickshire care home designed to support adults – including people with mobility needs, dementia and hearing loss – has claimed a major construction award and is now in line for a national industry prize.
Woodside Care Village in Warwick, run by local charity WCS Care and constructed by Midlands-based Deeley Construction, has picked up the LABC People & Place Award for New Housing – Best Purpose Built Accommodation in the West Midlands.
As a regional winner, the Deeley Group will have the chance to take home a national prize at a ceremony at Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge, London, where they will be joined by other finalists from across the country in the New Year.
Designed by Warwick-based Robothams, Woodside Care Village is a care home with 12 family-sized households, decorated in one of three lifestyles based on town, country and classical living. Up to seven people, who share similar care needs, interests and backgrounds, live together in each house, supported by a team of staff.
Two of the households are dedicated to the charity’s deaf service, Deafinitely Independent, and are supported by staff trained in British Sign Language.
The village has its own spa, as well an outdoor plaza – accessed by external walkways – featuring a hair salon, cinema, shop, launderette, and gardens with a bike track, outdoor gym equipment and water features.
Inside, each household has been fitted with circadian rhythm lighting which mimics natural light and helps reset the body clock of people living with dementia, which has benefits to wellbeing.
Night-time acoustic monitoring is another feature installed in rooms – it listens out for unusual sounds and sends an alert to a manager monitoring the system, who can make a decision about whether a carer is needed, ending the need for disruptive hourly door knocking throughout the night and leading to a better night’s sleep for residents.
Ed Russell, Chief Executive of WCS Care, said: ‘We’re delighted that Woodside Care Village has been recognised for its innovative design and construction regionally – and are keeping our fingers crossed ahead of the national finals.
‘Design is fundamental to supporting us with our approach to care and we’ve challenged typical thinking about what a care home looks like. It means we’re able to really focus on quality of life, providing plenty of opportunities for people to continue enjoying what they’ve always done.’
Steve Turner, Construction Director at Deeley Construction, said: ‘The design of the building, combined with the quality of care delivered by WCS Care, ensures that each resident maintains the sense of freedom and independence they’re used to, along with support if and when they need it.
‘Features such as the outdoor plaza – where the shop, launderette and hair salon are – would look at home on any high street with shopfronts and signage to give them a real community feel, and the smaller households are more representative to what people are used to.
‘It’s fantastic to hear that we have been named as a finalist in the national LABC People & Place Awards for this project, as it is one that we are extremely proud of given the positive impact it is having on people living inside the home and in the wider community, while highlighting the high quality of work that was delivered.’