Waterbrook Resort

Hospitality & Resort

Client: Waterbrook

26,910 SQFT

Australia

Set within the historic grounds of the former Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Boys Boarding School, Bowral by Waterbrook transforms a site of reflection and legacy into a six-star sanctuary for elevated over-55 living. At the heart of the development, the original classroom building has been respectfully reimagined as a communal restaurant, its aged green blackboards serving as the unexpected muse for the entire project’s colour palette. This deep, natural green informed everything from joinery finishes to soft furnishings, establishing a visual language that elegantly weaves heritage into the surrounding landscape.

The design ethos centres on inviting nature indoors while fostering warmth and comfort across all seasons. Organic textures, rich timbers, stone, and tactile fabrics are layered with ambient lighting and curated greenery, softening strong architectural forms. The result is a series of spaces designed for ease, where residents can linger, connect, and recharge. This duality of tone and texture ensures year-round liveability, with interiors that feel light and open in summer, yet warm and grounded during the Southern Highlands’ cooler months.

Delivering the project at scale presented notable challenges, including a 2,500m² wellness and amenities building, exacerbated by evolving teams over a five-year timeline. Maintaining design consistency and vision through changes in developers, builders, and consultants was essential. The interiors team served as the unwavering thread throughout, overseeing every detail from architectural coordination and specification to procurement and installation, ensuring the design promise conveyed in CGIs was fully realised on site.

Close collaboration with architects enabled a thoughtful balance between heritage retention and contemporary design. Salvaged architectural features were sensitively integrated into the new masterplan, while a wellness extension was added in harmony with the existing structure. The signature green hue, rooted in history yet interpreted in a modern, refined manner, became the cornerstone of the visual identity.

Bowral by Waterbrook now stands as a national benchmark for next-generation retirement living. Every residential need has been anticipated and met, offering an authentic, nature-led environment that merges thoughtful design, rich heritage, and a deep respect for craft and community.

Lorena lives design – she does not design with ego; it is more important to her that she meets the Client’s brief. Her concepts are intelligent, and she has a thorough knowledgeable of building capabilities and limitations. The results of her designs for both projects completely surpassed our expectations, which greatly assisted our funding and sales processes. Lorena was and is a true partner in our business, one that enhances our ideas and creates incredible value to our projects. Lorena is a pleasure to work with; she initially captured our attention with her humour and enthusiasm and soon backed it up with amazing ability.

What I appreciated most about working with Lorena was the collaborative mindset she brought to the process. She and her team didn’t just bring concepts, they truly listened, adapted, and worked with me as an extension of my own vision.

During the design development phase, this approach made a real impact. There was a clear understanding of what we were aiming to achieve, and Lorena’s team helped bring that to life without losing sight of the practicalities. The creative input was always backed by solid follow-through.

It never felt like we were handing off tasks, it felt like we were building something together. That kind of partnership made the process more efficient, and ultimately, more successful.

Working with Lorena and her team brought a level of clarity to the design process that was incredibly valuable from a development perspective. Their ability to visually communicate the design intent made it easier for me to identify and address key construction details early, saving time and avoiding issues down the line.

The team was proactive, detail-oriented, and open to collaboration. They understood how to translate creative ideas into practical outcomes, and that made my job easier. Their drawings and material selections didn’t just look good, they made sense in the context of delivery.

It’s rare to find a design team that can balance creativity with the technical realities of construction. Lorena’s team did exactly that.

Lorena’s team was a great asset to the project. They were always available when we needed input, whether it was a quick clarification or a detailed review, and their turnaround times were consistently fast, which helped us keep momentum on site.

What stood out was how they positioned themselves between Waterbrook and us as a true bridge. They understood both sides and helped streamline communication, resolve issues quickly, and keep everyone aligned.

It made a real difference having a design team that was both responsive and grounded in the realities of construction. We knew we could rely on them to move things forward efficiently.