New peer-reviewed research from the University of Melbourne has validated the outcomes of TLC Early Learning’s Jellyfish program at TLC Healthcare | Mordialloc.

These findings reinforce the design philosophy underpinning Australia's first intergenerational healthcare precinct, designed by award-winning architecture studio VIA Architects (VIA) for TLC Healthcare.

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Published in the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, the study found measurable improvements in empathy, emotional regulation, social confidence, language development, and wellbeing when children were brought together with aged care residents through structured engagement.

For VIA, that is a powerful finding. It gives weight to the social impact TLC Healthcare envisioned the precinct would support right from the beginning, recognising the ‘science of grand friends’ and the role design can play in bringing generations together.

“The value of this research is that it affirms the intention behind the Jellyfish program and TLC Healthcare’s vision,” says VIA Managing Director, Frank Bambino. “When older people remain visible and connected, and children are invited into that exchange, the benefits run both ways.”

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The multi-award-winning Healthcare imagined the multi-award-winning precinct as a shared environment where residential aged care, early learning, health and wellness facilities, primary care, and a village café could serve the surrounding community.

The Jellyfish program was not included as a feel-good add-on. It was developed by the leading healthcare operator in response to growing research into the benefits older people gain from continued contribution and passing down their knowledge, and the equally valuable role shared learning can play for children.

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“The design challenge was not the adjacency of services but shaping the conditions for interaction that could feel natural, repeated, and embedded in day-to-day life within the precinct,” Bambino notes.

Inspired by the early learning centre’s coastal theme and the local bay side setting, the program sparks vibrant interaction between children and aged care residents through shared activities spanning music, art, cooking, gardening, reading, writing and more.

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The thinking behind the precinct sits within a broader VIA philosophy of designing seniors living environments for 4 to 104-year-olds. That means creating communities that feel welcoming across generations; places grandchildren want to visit, where families can spend time comfortably, and where later life feels socially expansive rather than reduced.

That philosophy can be seen across VIA’s wider seniors living portfolio. For instance, at Pavilions Blackburn Lake, family-friendly elements such as a children’s playground and pool help create an environment younger visitors genuinely enjoy being part of, while a public auditorium supports broader community use and programming with local schools.

At TLC Healthcare | Mordialloc, the intergenerational relationship is more embedded and direct. Still, the underlying idea of creating environments where shared experiences between young and old can become part of everyday life is consistent.

The significance of the Jellyfish findings goes beyond the program's success alone. They suggest that intergenerational connection is strongest when it is not treated as an overlay but embedded in how a community is planned, shared, and experienced, validating TLC Healthcare’s pioneering operating model.

For the seniors living sector, that is an important distinction. As expectations continue to shift with a new generation of older Australians emerging, the role of design is no longer limited to resolving care, amenity, and operational needs in isolation. It also extends to shaping the kinds of environments where older people remain connected to family, their community, and to an ongoing sense of purpose.

“For me, the broader lesson is that good design can help create the conditions for people to remain connected to the world around them,” Bambino adds. “That’s not an extra; it’s central to the role architecture needs to play.”

Photo credit: Jaime Diaz-Berrio (Images supplied)

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