Project Narrative

With a spatial approach centred around compassion, the ‘Caring Home’ enables elderly residents’ autonomy, connecting them with the life-affirming energy of nature and reassurance of community.

Challenging institutional stereotypes, the Home as imagined supports the continuation of life and its shared activities. Allowing inhabitants to enrich relationships with loved ones and expand wider social opportunities.

Embedding connections between the interior, exterior and surrounding landscape of Pollok Park, the intimate village-like Complex encourages multisensory experiences. Navigating dualities of light, sound, smell, and temperature, provides a therapeutic context that supports well-being.

Sensitive interventions to the historic buildings embed accessible spaces, offering independence for residents to live in the environment as they choose.

The increasing needs of an aging population intensifies the vitality of hopeful, health-giving care homes. Alleviating fears and institutional stereotypes, the environment must value and holistically support the identity, stories, memories and human needs of the elderly.

Concept Tensions/ Emotive Response

Site observation, October

Motivated by experiences of my Papa's care home, the project aims to provide a better lived experience for the elderly.

Symbolising societal attitudes towards aging, the existing care home interior institutionalises residents through a sense of confinement from the outside world. Removal from social, mental and sensory stimulants is detrimental to the sense of self and well-being of those confined indoors, and experiencing anxieties of moving into unfamiliar surroundings.

Personal and societal emotive perceptions of the care home;

- Institutionalisation results in the elderly feeling resistance to the care environment, fears of becoming cut off from loved ones and the homes they have built over a lifetime

- Residents lack of independence and autonomy of time/activity

- Associations with the care home as an end to life

Spatial problems of the contemporary care home;

- Anonymity of the interior devalues the identity of residents and is suggestive of temporality

- Clinical, oppressive atmosphere

- Synthetic lighting, colour and material palettes

Understanding the spatial problems and anxieties related to the existing care home aids in applying solutions to deinstitutionalise the interior.

Spatial Values/Aims

To provide the basis for a fulfilling life, the project should embody the spatial values that aid the design in meeting inhabitants needs,

Concept spatial values;

- Compassion

- Autonomy - Stability

- Protection/Exposure - Energy/Calm

- Multi-Sensory experiences

Nature;

- Water

- Flora

- Fauna - Air - Sky Time; - Memory

- Transitions

- Seasons - Weather

- Life/Death

Relationships;

- Old/Young

- Old/New

- Past/Present/Future

- Public/Private

- Indoor/Outdoor

Spatially provide compassion and care through an inhabitantcentric environment, supporting;

- Sensory stimulation

- Autonomy

- Human relationships and belonging to community

- Health and mobility issues of residents, and their choice to root into place

- Health-giving spaces and activities

- Connections between interior, exterior and surrounding nature

- Memory

- Supporting the roles of specialist care providers and staff

De-institutionalise the care home;

- Challenging institutional stereotypes linguistically and spatially, alleviate fears of the typology

- Enable residents to play an active role in their environment

Sensitively interact with the historic site;

- Interventions must enhance the structures and human experience within the Complex

- Adaptations must take a sustainable approach to materiality and potential renewable power sources

Therapeutic activities, social opportunities and a sensory design approach should aid the interior in enhancing well-being. Providing residents with stability regardless of health and mobility issues, the proposal must convey compassion for this sensitive transition within the lives of the elderly and their loved ones.