Auckland, 13 June 2025: Burlington Village, a new Qestral Corporation property that is setting the tone for retirement living, won Best in Category in the Oceania Retirement Living and Aged Care Property Award in this year’s Property Council awards.
This is the second year the Oceania Retirement Living and Aged Care Property Award has been handed out as it was a new category in 2024. The Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards are the most prestigious property awards programme in Aotearoa New Zealand celebrating excellence in design and innovation in the built environment.
Burlington Village is a vibrant community hub designed to enhance social engagement, wellbeing, and inclusivity. It offers 42 apartments ranging from 40m² to 100m². Inspired by Singapore’s Raffles, the two-story Pavilion within the village features accessible design, level entryways, and movable walls for flexible use.
“Choosing a suitable spot to enjoy retirement is a big decision. For many an important consideration is finding somewhere where you can continue to enjoy independence and a state of autonomy,” said chief judge Andy Evans.
“Burlington Village provides all of this and so much more. It has a library, a restaurant, a bakery and coffee shop, movie theatre, wellness centre and a pool all within an easy walking distance. It’s like being on a permanent, and lux, holiday!”
Māori names adorn doors, while native plants and floating wetlands promote biodiversity. The Village’s high-quality, sustainable design ensures low maintenance costs and long-lasting value for the community, creating a holistic living environment for residents and visitors.
The building is filled with thoughtful and clever touches such as wider walkways and stair treads to allow ease of movement. A big-ticket item, and one that helps to drive the sense of connection and community, is the state-of-the-art in-room communication system. It allows residents to connect to their GP or in house doctor to ask about any ailment that may be troubling them and if required, then arrange an appointment.
The in-room panel also allows residents to connect to each other.
“I appreciated how this form of communication allows residents to stay in touch with one another, to socialise easily and retain their independence. You could meet a new friend today and then arrange to meet them for tea the next,” said Evans. “This way residents can be as involved as they’d like to be without having to travel a long distance or arrange for someone to take them somewhere – all things which become harder as you become less mobile.”
It’s this focus on connection that was important to the overall design too. Certain spaces can be hired out to host events and parties which helps to bring families and grandchildren into the space too.
“Many of these types of developments, even if they have good amenities, can sadly still feel institutional. However, Burlington Village is a place that you want to come inside from a cold Christchurch wind and spend time in,” concluded Evans.
Oceania Retirement Living and Aged Care Property Award
Best in Category: Burlington Village
- Address: 171 Prestons Road, Christchurch
- Owner: Burlington Village
- Developer: Qestral Corporation
- Construction: Higgs Construction
- Architect: +MAP
- Structural, mechanical and building enclosure engineer: TM Consultants
- Service engineer and quantity surveyor: Aurecon
- Project manager: Kensway
- Other consultants: Mostra Design and Morgan and Pollard
OTHER WINNERS IN THIS CATEGORY INCLUDED:
Excellence:
- Awatere Village – Stages 1, 2 & 3, Hamilton
- Summerset St Johns, Auckland
Merit:
- Woburn Masonic Care, Lower Hutt
ENDS