Very few homes and communities can claim to be suitable for all generations, be it for the young or the seniors in their golden years.

For most seniors, retirement is a time for them to actively engage with their community of friends. In more developed countries, seniors tend to ‘right-size’ from their large houses to more suitable abodes in the right community for their golden years. Another criterion for right-sizing is the availability of support around them.

On the other hand, for many of today’s working generations, having ones’ parents and children living together with them is a dream come true. The familial bonds cultivated between grandchildren and grandparents living together is indeed priceless. By living together everyone will be able to keep an eye on each other, while the practicality of maintaining one house instead of two, keeps living costs down.

While this can be a practical solution to parent and child-care, it is often unworkable due to the size and suitability of homes, or lack of emergency medical support within the community. Fear that the aged parents may fall, or children needing emergency medical care, brings about valid questions of whether the homes and community are suitable for their children and parents to be left alone while they’re away at work.

Conversations such as these brought about the idea of multi-generational homes suitable for seniors or the differently-abled; and a throwback look to old traditions whence families with aged parents and children living together under one roof. 


Finding the Perfect Multi-generational Home

A multi-generational home should be able to cater to the entire family – from grandparents to young children. However, most multi-generational homes do not address vital issues such as accessibility, should any unfortunate eventualities occur later in life. One such unfortunate instance would be the need to use wheelchairs and whether one’s home would be able to cater to a wheelchair user.

A multi-generational home should also have appropriate health, wellness and safety features incorporated into every part of the development, so that the needs of the seniors as well as the younger children are met.


Tuai Residence @ Setia Alam

Tuai Residence by Suntrack Development Sdn Bhd fills these gaps and more. Designed as a true multi-generational home., the development intends to fulfil its MAGIC promise, a concept that is detailed below.

The 330-unit-all-generation condominium is built on 6.6 acres of freehold land, and is the first of four phases of a 23.3-acre development in the heart of the growing township of Setia Alam. Its low-density (only 50 homes to an acre) is only one of the appeals of this inspiring development.


MAGIC at Tuai Residence

It is easy to understand how the concept of multi-generational Tuai Residence came about, especially when one looks at the vision that Suntrack Development has adopted as a company; “To be a great company that builds MAGIC communities”. (MAGIC is a term coined by famed gerontologist, Dr. Bill Thomas that stands for Multi-Ability, multi-Generational, Inclusive Community). It was a vision that was conceived by the company as its strategic future direction, stemming from a passion to build homes where the elderly can safely age-in-place and live actively and independently.

Tuai Residence is the first development by Suntrack that fully incorporates the MAGIC concept, where the designers’ intent was for no one to be left behind. It is an inclusive development designed for residents of all abilities and all generations from toddlers to grandparents, where families can grow and age in place, enjoying their homes for a long time to come, without ever needing to be displaced or make changes to the homes to suit different abilities.


Care On-Site for the Entire Family

If a home is to be deemed suitable for seniors and our aged parents, it certainly has to be designed with the health and well-being of its residents (especially that of the older ones) in mind.

In this regard, Tuai Residence excels. Designed with a Care Office at site, comprising a treatment room manned by a registered nurse and a trained caregiver, Tuai Residence takes health and well-being to heart. The Care Office aims to provide 24/7 medical emergency assistance, as staff would be given accommodation at site and will be on-call even after office hours. The Care Office will be operated by Suntrack’s collaboration partner, Cality Care, an Australian company that provides Australian standard home care services. The cost of the Care Office staff is borne by the residents via their monthly service charges. The costs for additional services, should they be required, including homecare, can also be provided by Cality Care, on a separate pay-per-use arrangement.


A Development with Universal Design

For one to age in place, the home must be accessible and easy for everyone to move around in at any stage of their physical fitness and mobility. Independence, comfort and convenience would be the keywords to achieving this.

Tuai Residence is designed to be accessible in its entirety. Be it the bathrooms within the units, to ramps throughout the development, to the link bridge that connects the retail lots; Tuai Residence is universally designed to be accessible to everyone. Designated toilets in the house and rooms are designed with a wheelchair turning radius. Designated doorways are 900mm wide to allow for wheelchair access, and wheelchair car parks are provided near the drop-off lobby.


Safety and Security

Tuai Residence is also designed with maximum protection not only in the common areas, but the units as well, as all are equipped throughout with fire sprinklers, a rarity in residential developments. In the event of a fire, fire sprinklers would start to fight the fire while the fire brigade makes their way to the development. There are also three fire protected refuges on each floor where wheelchairs users, pregnant mothers and the elderly may take shelter and await rescue.

The security of the whole development, from CCTV placements and perimeter control right down to the patrolling system at Tuai Residence is designed by a member of the British Security Industry Association, ensuring compliance to international security standards.

Other features designed with safety in mind include raised swimming pools, steps and handrails in the pool for better accessibility, for everyone.


Building a Community

Tuai Residence is designed with community and place-making in mind, one such example is the Clubhouse, which is located right at the entrance to encourage participation from its residents. A central gathering point for residents, the Clubhouse was designed with facilities that include a chic café, function rooms as well as a badminton hall.

The Residents’ Lounge is another such community building feature. Located within close proximity of the lift lobby, it has a lovely lounge area where the billiard table is placed, a communal kitchen and 6 function rooms of varying sizes for community events. Inspired by retirement villages in Australia, these function rooms serve a variety of functions, from hosting work meetings to children having their tuition classes, religious groups meetings as well as games.

The link bridge to the neighbouring retail lots enable visits to shops and kopitiams, tuition centres as well as clinics.

Tuai Residence’s aspiration to build a community is symbolic of the name Tuai – a nod to rice – the staple in most Asian households. It references harvest festivals commonly celebrated across most cultures in Asia where communities came together in celebration. This is emphasized further at the Tuai Clubhouse, where the water fountain is perpetually watering the ‘golden paddy’ sculpture, the symbolic treasured community bonds.

How apt then for Tuai Residence to be a place where the young and old form a community that looks out for one another in a safe abode everyone calls home. A home for any stage of life and a community to be proud of.

For more information on Tuai Residence, check them out at the Tuai Show Gallery on site, call 011 2222 8000 or log on to www.tuai.my.


(4th November 2020)