A $12 million aged care home in the East Kimberley that won first place for Health Building in the prestigious World Architecture Festival in 2015, remains closed nearly a decade later due to damage caused by flooding.
The celebrated home has never housed residents.
Western Australia’s Regional Development Minister Don Punch said because of “design flaws and deterioration in the building’s condition” plans for the facility have changed, and the building will now be used for different purposes, according to the ABC.
Wild horses have been using the buildings for shelter.
The home was first developed to replace the aged care hostel destroyed by floods in Warrmarn in 2011.
Local resident and author and artist Shirley Purdie told the ABC it was “really a waste” the facility has not been used. “We were really looking forward to it.”
Kimberley Community Legal Services Chief Executive Christine Robinson said: “We are concerned that there is a lack of culturally appropriate and safe accommodation for a population that’s rapidly ageing.
“Across the Kimberley, there’s a lack of bed space in general. We work with an elderly cohort and finding them somewhere safe to live is an ongoing battle for us.”
