Sited on one of Sydney’s iconic headlands, the materiality is directly informed by the spectacular coastal sandstone formations and the native landscape.

The site is structured around a central courtyard, an ocean terrace and a grid of public domain connections linking to the coast and nearby Freshwater. The design conceals much of the program within the contour of the land to control visual impact with the seniors living village organised around the central courtyard, and the club and associated public facilities located beneath connecting to the ocean terrace.

Freshwater’s Harbord Diggers Club as a multi-purpose intergenerational hub, including hospitality, childcare, fitness facilities, aquatic and retail, with memorials, walkways and gardens, as well as residential living.

For the residents, the apartment interiors are designed with flexi-rooms to accommodate changing needs as well as outdoor rooms to maximise opportunities to engage with the headland environment. Operable glazing and screens allow residents to mediate sun and wind and to control connection to the public domain. Public pathways connect to the coast while open stairs connect residents to the public facilities to promote a social and active lifestyle. The outcome is a diverse set of facilities nestled gently into one of Sydney’s great coastal headlands and cleverly arranged to amplify the health, social and lifestyle benefits of coexistence, and a place where seniors can expect to live a longer, healthier life.

Watermark undertook all the early design development, sales & marketing and village operations on behalf of the Mounties Group from 2015, until 2022.