Walumba Elders Centre: Providing Cultural and Emotional Support

expanding design practices, iredale pedersen hook, Low Density, Project, Repair, Territory and mobility

Age, Architect’s role, Architecture, Architecture&nature, Australia, Community, Community Facilities, Cultural identity, Design, Nature, Project, Reconstructing nature, repair, Social Inclusion, Territory, Water, Well-being

Photography: Peter Bennetts

On the 13 March 2011 the remote Aboriginal Community of Warrmarn, Gija Country East Kimberley in Western Australia, was struck by devastating floods that overwhelmed much of the town and damaged or destroyed most buildings. Some 350 Gija People were forced off their homelands for two years. The Walumba Aged Care Centre was born out of this disaster. The site, within the Turkey Creek river valley at Warmun, the core township for the Gija People, was selected by the Community Elders as it was adjacent to the school and close to the community centre. This location ensured that the Elders in residence could be easily accessed by the young members of the community to provide cultural and emotional support between the generations.