MONDAY 7 MARCH - Masonic Care and the Queensland State Library

Monday morning and off to hire a car for the next few days. My first visit was to Masonic Care Queensland in the seaside town of Sandgate, north of Brisbane. This large complex is on the site of a former hospital that has been steadily redeveloped over the years to create a mixed high, low and special care campus. I was shown round the site by Regional Manager Joyce Stephan.


Lucinda is a brand new 150 bed dementia care building that has only recently been competed and is due to be officially opened by the Queensland State Governor next week. It is named after a special paddle ship that used to be the Queensland Ship of State and is an iconic symbol of the state's history. The building has been carefully designed to offer a comprehensive contemporary range of care services and incorporates the latest thinking in design for people with dementia.


I was particularly interested to see the art work in the form of large murals created by residents in the part of the site that has recently been replaced by the new building.





The new building incorporates a number of significant design features. I liked the corner memory boxes outside the bedrooms....


.... and the well thought out garden design.


Across the road is the somewhat older but characterful Special Care Unit. This single storey building is a complete contrast to Lucinda and I was impressed by its colourful decoration and by the very positive sense of personalised space...


....and by the small but beautiful garden spaces with clearly defined walkways.


Following the most interesting visit to Masonic Care I made my way to Brisbane city centre where I spent the afternoon at the Queensland State Library researching the work being undertaken to create an archive collection of digital histories of the people of the state and in particular the history of indigenous aboriginal peoples and communities. The library is a magnificent modern building on the banks of the Brisbane River. Fortunately the building was not seriously damaged by the recent flooding although the underground car park beneath the building is still unusable.


A magnificent view of the city from the reading room of the library.

Location:Brisbane