Albany aged care centre takes major State honour after winning big at 2020 construction awards

An Albany aged care centre has triumphed at this year’s Master Builders-Bankwest Excellence in Construction Awards, winning one of the major State awards.

Crothers Construction won best regional project for its $30 million Juniper Korumup residential aged care centre at the gala awards night on Saturday at Crown Perth.

Regional awards judge Charlie Baggetta said the 101-bed high-care facility was full of innovative ideas.

“The construction features open spaces and lots of glass to make the most of natural light and enhance the connection between indoors and outdoors,” Mr Baggetta said.

“Large structures with lots of corridors can be difficult for visitors to navigate, but each wing has different finishes and decor to help people find their way around.”

Mr Baggetta said Crothers Construction worked with local builders and suppliers to get Juniper Korumup built on schedule.

“The difficult, sloping site meant a lot of the brickwork had to be done from a scaffold, which adds to the complexity, but the standard was exceptional,” he said.

The awards, which were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, represent a total of almost $2.8 billion in construction work across the State.

Master Builders executive director John Gelavis said the range of projects was a highlight for the industry in a challenging year.

“The COVID-19 crisis has been a devastating blow to the WA economy and to many businesses, so it’s great to find a cause of celebration in the excellence shown by our construction industry,” he said.

“The awards themselves have been delayed by the pandemic but we had a strong field of 98 entries which together represent almost $2.8 billion in construction work and economic activity for WA.”