Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Senior Care Housing

This is a project by UArchitects and it is located at Maarheeze, Eindhoven, Netherlands. There are sixteen images for Senior Care Housing.

: © UArchitects

Project images

Designer's statement

At the location of the former shopping centre “de Brink” and where a care home (Marishof) and ten sheltered houses were situated. At this location has been designed a new care housing for elder people.

This projects exists in four parts.

30 houses for seniors (part A) orientated to the square “de Brink” and an extension of the Floralaan divided into 2 to 3 stories.
54 residential homes for more elder people (part B) spread over three stories situated at the Floralaan and Hagelkruis.
30 rooms for elder people how need more treatment and attention (part C) are directed to Hagelkruis and the Lavendelstraat.
These parts are connected by the “meander” in this order (part D). The meander symbolizes the phases of life which the future occupants will follow or experience, seen in time.

It is also the aorta of the complex that provides the following main functions:

day care
recreation and welfare
treatment functions
management, administration and personnel
supporting services
space for nursery and care apartments

The region and the history around Maarheeze (region Eindhoven) are a reason for the use of material, colour and texture. It is a translation of a historical rural substance into a coded message. This will be visible when intensively studying the building. In small amounts, images of “recognition” come up in our consciousness and because of that, acceptance of relative large extra care housing in a small community is being simplified. The materials are distracted from the rural scenery and the process of transience. After a while they show light grey patina. We have developed a special concrete large brick for this project in the spirit of “Cradle to Cradle”. It was produced not far from the site with low energy cost and it can be reused if necessary.