PRECEDENT 4: THALGAU HOME FOR THE ELDERLY AND CHILDREN’S NURSERY

FIGURE 6.23: (Kadawittfelarchitektu, n.d.).

PRECEDENT 4:

THALGAU HOME FOR THE ELDERLY AND CHILDREN’S NURSERY

Location: State of Salzburg, Austria Architect: Kadawittfelarchitektur GbR Year Completed: 2002

The Thalgau Home for the Elderly and Children’s Nursery combines a home for the elderly and a children’s nursery to enable intergenerational contact between society’s youngest and oldest members. According to Feddersen and Lüdtke (2009, pp. 216-217) the home was designed to be reminiscent of small homes along a small town street . The heart of the building is the central courtyard between two of the masses, which is adjacent to the communal dining hall. Walkways completely wrap around the home’s perimeter to encourage active inner walking routes for young and elderly people and provide stimulating routes with bridges linking the various masses. The resident’s rooms have small seating niches in the front, leading

FIGURE 6.25: (Kadawittfelarchitektu, n.d.).

to the central courtyard that encourage social connection and help establish the transition between public and private. The big boxedframed French windows in the resident’s rooms also allow a direct connection between their rooms and the outside world, allowing the window to act as a flowerbed or a seat in the sun. There is a clear distinction in architectural language between the nursery and the home for the elderly. The nursery embodies a sense of lightness with its glass facades and floating roof, while the home uses warm colours and tone, with rhythmic patterns in the cladding and placement of windows (Feddersen & Lüdtke, 2009).

• The overlapping connection between the young and elderly through introducing the communal dining hall. • The difference in design languages between the nursery and home. • The small seating niches help the resident lay claim on the public space and establish a threshold between public and private spaces. This principle adheres the ‘front door bench’ (Pattern 242) (Alexander, et al., 1977) that states that benches outside of the front door allow people to comfortably sit and watch the happenings on the street, while helping to define the semi-private space. • The French windows adhere to the ‘window place’ (Pattern 180) (Alexander, et al., 1977) that states that at least one window in any habitable room should be a window just deep enough to be a seat to create a sense of comfort and relaxation.

FIGURE 6.27: Plan & Sections, scanned in from A Design Manual: Living for the elderly (Feddersen & Lüdtke, 2009, p.216).

CROSS SECTION

LONGITUDINAL SECTION ROOM PLAN

FIGURE 6.26: Plan, scanned in from A Design Manual: Living for the elderly (Feddersen & Lüdtke, 2009, p.217).

GROUND FLOOR