A new boutique residential development on the Gold Coast is redefining luxury living with the design centred on wellness.

According to Kate Ockwell, associate and interior design lead at Plus Architecture, which designed Drift Residences, a collection of 50 boutique residences on the Gold Coast’s Main Beach, the demand for exclusive health and wellness amenities, which rose during the pandemic, is fast becoming a must-have in boutique residential design.

“The ability to replicate premium health and wellness spaces at home through thoughtful design is what defines private residential oases that truly stand out in the market,” Ockwell explains.

“Our vision is most fully realised in Drift’s recreational areas, which include a private wellness sanctuary, the Wellbeing Centre. With exclusive access to these facilities, residents can indulge in the luxury of a spa experience in the comfort of their own home,” Ockwell says.

Creating luxurious wellness spaces demands a holistic approach attuned to the sensory experience, with three principles driving the design of Drift Residences – materiality, zoning, and nature.

“We know residents expect quality textures and finishes. From the very start, our focus was providing an exquisite tactile experience,” Ockwell explains.

Features reminiscent of premier vacation destinations include poolside walkways, clad in roughly textured paving, which evoke the feeling of traversing over natural rock formations in a secluded waterfall setting; warm, natural materials and bespoke cladding that provide an immersive experience; and plush upholstered furnishings and warm-toned treatment rooms that create cosy sanctuaries for deep relaxation.

Thoughtfully considering how, and in which succession, spaces will be experienced has been pivotal in the design. “Establishing thresholds and transitional zones is critical to creating areas of decompression,” Ockwell says.

For instance, a sensory, arched entry passage takes residents to the Wellbeing Centre, with the transition accompanied by the soothing murmurs of a cascading waterfall. The zones within the wellness precinct are carefully separated, ensuring each area is entered with purposeful intention. The secluded spa relaxation lounge, offering both private and communal treatment rooms, remains cloistered from the yoga deck, replete with sauna and steam rooms, which are in turn distanced from the pool facilities encompassing mineral pools, a cold plunge, and more.

“Throughout the design, we have curated an oasis of planting that thrives in tropical climes,” says Ockwell. The typical manicured look is replaced by lush planting seamlessly interspersed amongst the sunken lounges and daybeds, extending onto the terraces to forge an inviting, calming sanctuary.

Drift Residences is currently under construction and due for completion in 2025.