Riverfield Clubhouse reframes the traditional clubhouse typology to reflect a new generation of over-55s living. Located in Clyde, an emerging suburb in Melbourne’s south-east, the project avoids institutional cues. Instead, it draws from the domestic: textured finishes, engineered timber, soft partitions and furnishings that support both solitude and sociability. Spaces are warm but not nostalgic. Refined but not exclusive.

The design brings together three circular pavilions: The Sanctuary, The Living Room, and The Commons. Each supports a different aspect of wellbeing; restoration, connection and renewal, while the landscape threads the experience together. Gardens, walking paths, outdoor cinema and sports courts extend the clubhouse well beyond its walls and into the neighbourhood. Materials are drawn from the surrounding environment. Clyde Creek’s ancient riverstones shaped the design language with organic curves, natural tones and earthy texture, resulting in a space that feels grounded, intuitive and human.

This is not a clubhouse as an ornament or sales tool. It is infrastructure for better living. A place to move, pause, gather and grow, designed for people who see ageing not as an ending, but as a new beginning.

Photography: Gavin Green