A wonderful project by any account, a new 12 bed plus three staff bedroom care facility at Warmun, at the top end of  WA (847 km east of Broome and 1024 km from Darwin), has won WA’s 2015 Sustainability Award.

The judges said it was “the epitome of sustainability because it had gone beyond the common consideration of energy performance and environmental sustainability”.

Called the Walumba Elder’s Care Centre, it is a twin wing, partially in-curving building of cement and corrugated iron raised 2.4 m of ground to survive floods like the 'one in 300 year' event in 2011 that washed away the whole community.

The curved building is designed to socially, culturally and spiritually perform. Gender separation needs to be accommodated under Gija lore, fire and smoking ceremonies need to be conducted as well as funery or ‘sorry business’. Accordingly it is ‘culturally sustainable’ as well.