project
Team Health Darwin
| Client | Team Health |
| Location | Darwin, NT |
| Completion Year | 2019 |
| Sector | Health |
| Residential | |
| Emergency | |
| Services | |
| Government |
| Project Manager |
Dave Bennett
Director & Senior Architect
Team HEALTH’s assisted living facility in Malak, designed by Bennett Architecture, provides a safe, culturally responsive environment for mental health rehabilitation and community reintegration. The development features independent living units, communal lounges, and landscaped gardens with zones for relaxation, exercise, and social connection. Purpose-built vegetable gardens promote sustainability and engagement. Delivered through extensive consultation, the project combines functional design with wellbeing principles, supporting independence and 24-hour on-site care.
Key objectives
Create a safe, culturally responsive environment that supports mental health rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Foster independence and wellbeing through people-focused spaces and graduated re-learning facilities.
Encourage social connection and engagement with communal lounges, games areas, and shared amenities.
Promote sustainability and active participation via purpose-built vegetable gardens and landscaped outdoor zones.
Deliver functional design within complex stakeholder context, ensuring accessibility, security, and 24-hour support services.
Project Story
Bennett Architecture delivered the design for Team HEALTH's assisted living development in Malak, a non-clinical mental health facility known as Top End House. The project reflects a deep understanding of people-focused environments that promote independence, wellbeing, and cultural sensitivity. Designed for rehabilitation and transition, the facility supports patients returning from clinical care to community living, with many residents coming from remote Aboriginal communities.
The masterplan prioritises safety, accessibility, and connection. Independent living units for high-care residents are complemented by communal lounges, games areas, and purpose-built vegetable gardens that encourage sustainability and provide residents with a nurturing role. Expansive landscaped gardens create zones for private contemplation, exercise, and group activities, while a central gazebo offers a focal point for social gatherings. Planting strategies ensure visibility and security, combining low ground cover with taller shade trees for cooling and comfort.
The facility includes administration offices, treatment spaces, staff accommodation, a central lounge and kitchen, laundry and craft areas, group bedrooms, and individual units. A graduated design approach supports re-learning and independence, with 24-hour mentor and clinical support available on-site.
Delivered through extensive cultural consultation and stakeholder engagement, the design process involved site visits, 3D visualisations, and public feedback to refine the brief. Despite community opposition during planning, the project demonstrates Bennett Architecture’s ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships and deliver culturally responsive, functional environments. With a site area of 4,400 m² and a construction value of $4.37M, Top End House stands as a benchmark for integrated mental health design in the Northern Territory.
