Summary
Topic 11: find and analyse precedents of Senior Citizen’s/ elder’s centre
Tutor: Sue Rice
Group members: Xiuyuan Deng (305112929), Xuan Luo (3305082647), Shuting Qiu (305058568)
As precedent studies gain knowledge of design formulas and by comparisons make a sense of experience, the research process was to direct us to think and help us get started to the project. At the time we were collecting andsorting out precedent materials, several key questions that we tried to answer by analysing precedents have turned out to be vital, eg. How was the design connected to its context? What are the design characteristics reinforcing activities? How can we set the facilities accessible for elder people? Etc. The research was not limited in Australia but also typical elders centres in other countries, since we hoped to find a link to the aboriginal culture.
The Solar House, City Musashi-no, Tokyo
The objectives of this project were to create a comfort community environment for the aged and disabled residents of the area, respecting their personalities and identities in the way of supporting each other. The aim was to provide a range of services to satisfy the needs of the senior citizens by constructing a convenient and gentle build environment. Therefore a concept of building a“closely located, light and small home” was introduced. The context had been an important element for the design.The house has a wooden flooring living and dining hall, an activity room, a Japanese style room for religion use and a flexible area as a continue space which is an common element in traditional Japanese housing. There are two accessible toilets, and also a kitchen, a bathroom, a staff room and a storeroom. A variety of activities are organised here such as singing and dancing, handcrafting, gentle exercises, health lectures and etc. All these facilities are situated on the ground floor to be accessible for the elders. As it is a community centre and also a safe place for earthquake, the structure of the Solar House is reinforced concrete constructed with parts of steel framed. However, the interiors including the floor, the ceiling, the walls and the beams are mostly natural materials, which present a familiar sense of country houses in the old times. For consideration about what kind of materials can affect the living environment, the whole building was designed to have a conversation with the nature. The needed energy for all the electric equipments including heating and hot water can be supplied by a solar system independently even at earthquake situations. The design idea was based on the pursue of the comfort that belongs to a warm and gentle residential house simply with a large span roof and deep eaves, willing to become a positive home for the local elders of the neighbourhood.
Ultimo Community Centre
In order for comparison and contrast, we also selected a typical local elders centre, which is the Ultimo Community Centre in Sydney.
It is located on the corner of Harris Street and William Henry Street. The elders centre is a part within the community centre on level 1, which comprises of a community hall with attached kitchen, sports hall, administration and craft room. These are all grouped around a central courtyard. The central courtyard with a blue shelter cloth is a place is for outdoor. The trees and the aboriginal style painting on the side of the courtyard function as decoration undoubtedly gain interest to the environment and reinforce an Australian lifestyle with respect to the Aboriginal culture. The elders community hall sits just beside the central courtyard and also on the ground floor. The wall that is facing the courtyard is constructed fully by glass so that the inside has the maximum natural light from the outside. The hall is big enough to contain 30 people and all the indoor activities such as meetings, classes, meals and various communications can be held in this hall. The rectangular pattern on the tiled floor makes sense of dividing and organising the large space into effective use. Lighting at the ceiling and on the walls are largely used to help the elders with their sight problem. The large corner window catches some outside views on William Henry Street. As a result, the atmosphere in the hall is warm and gentle. The façade of the building is attractive, as the so-called tribuna windows on it feature the unusual look of the outside. The many tribuna windows jump about on the outside, unexpectedly picking up the activities inside and spelling them out externally with signs and graphics in a way that creates interest. The access running through 3 levels includes a lift and stairswith assisting handrails and there are accessible toilets. The design of the Ultimo Community Centre has a casual and improvised purpose, which aims to give this community somewhere to come to make friends and find companionship. This was worked out as dealing with each crisis, each shift in program and each emergency that had to be fitted into the package. It is an example basically of what we need to think about in order to design for the elders.
This site is located in Massachusetts. It was constructed in the fall of 1973. It was made of pre-cast concrete slabs. The surrounding area is mixed commercial, residential and industrial use. The area is boundary with small commercial such as small grocery and liquor stores, bars and restaurants; bus stop is also close by. So the site is chosen in a very convenience area.
The site consists of a residential tower and a one-story social space annex. And the social space is pretty similar to the project we are doing this semester.
There are 4 pictures about informal morning behavior, informal afternoon behavior, informal evening behavior and formal behavior. In the community room, people normally prepare for the lunch program in the morning, and several residents come down early and set up. In afternoon one and two people may sit here and watch activities along the street. And most men and women participate in the card game and there is also small group sit and talk there. In the evening a group of man typically plays cards and residents cluster in small group around the table to talk.
In the craft room, severalmen usually sitting and talking in the morning and afternoon, but not in the evening, and game room is rarely used. And residents wander in different time into library to get books, which they take to their unit rather than read them in the library.
In the sitting area, there is someone sitting and talking or watching people go by, and residents can survey the room from this point before deciding to enter into the activities.
A subsidized lunch program with meals brought in from a nearby gives residents opportunities for an inexpensive meal and for socializing with others in the building, table and chairs are set up and the 50-60 residents serve themselves from tables in the centre of the room.
There are twice a week bingo game on, about 40 to 50 people set up tables and chairs facing the caller and large lighted board in the front of the room between the two columns.
And residents and officers conduct monthly meeting from the tables between the two columns, around 100 to 150 sit on the chairs facing the officers.
Design issues
Location: the social space have the primary path between the elevator and the annex door, so it can be observed by entering and leaving the building, but the distance allow the residents to activities in the secondary path without interrupting it. But residents cannot see social activities in the secondary space from the primary path.
Differentiation of semi-public zone: a circulation area between the secondary space and the community room is defined by column placement lowered ceiling height and a dimmer lighting level.The secondary space is craft room, game room and library. So this circulation area allows the residents to go to the secondary space without disrupting activities happening in the community room. However, the two large columns and table between them create a physical barrier to inhibit circulation between the community room and the secondary space. Because the there secondary spaces are similar in interior finishes, ceiling heights, lighting and view of outdoors, a wide range of settings for different activities is not available. The craft room is used with any regularity due to its location at the far end of the community room and its single entrance, because it can provide more group privacy than other two rooms.
Visual connection: views of the community room are available for the residents who use the primary path between the annex door and elevators. Residents can see the activities from the entrance to the semi-public zone; they can also find a location in the community room from which to watch the activities along the primary path. Visual connections between the community room and secondary spaces are limited, because the opening door at either side of the smaller rooms provide the only line of sight, people have to enter there space to see what happen, but it may interrupt the activities or embarrassing for the people who come in but choose to walk out again. As result, many residents do not use the secondary spaces. The outdoor view for secondary space is a landscaped backyard where little activity takes place. But residents prefer to wait for others in the community room where watching the activities around them can be an interesting way to pass the time.
The third precedent study we want to introduce is “Fran and Ray Stark Villa” in California, USA. The “Fran and Ray Stark Villa” is located at Woodland Hills, CALIFORNIA, USA and it is designed by Smith Group. According to Smith Group, the villa is designed a center provides leading-edge care and promotes aging place. Buildings wrapped around garden, which encourage residents to interact. Abundant view can be gained from interior walkways and allow the therapeutic qualities of the natural elements to permeate. Rooms are designed simple to let to be personalized by residents. Smith group states that the architectural flavor of the building was inspired by the industrial character of the old Hollywood studio and typology of Southern California architecture.
Generally, the elder centre is a central building spline—double-faced, giving equal emphasis to pedestrians and vehicles, and characterized by slate tiles and a curved seamed-metal roof.To profit from views, the building's three floors are organized along single-loaded corridors with expanses of full-height fenestration; facing partition walls are fitted with custom benches where residents can rest.
The major design objectives and response:
Firstly, the design is tried to emphasize demand and independence for residents. For example: multiple dining options allow variety and flexibility for aging in place, all three floors have dining area that elders do not need to negotiate lift or stairs; benches are located along walkways to stop and rest and nurse call button grab bars are found in everywhere needed. Appropriate colour creates harmonious environment and can be used as instruction. The outdoor space include an open lawn, Koi pond, garden walk, butterfly meditation retreat, wandering textural garden with waist-high turf and beach sand.
Secondly, the design is to provide a homelike atmosphere.There are many nearby, accessible outdoor spaces and gardens. Every unit has balcony or patio, plants and animals cared for by residents and each building has family rooms. Simple, unadorned interiors and open shelves allow elder to personalize.All residents are encouraged to use the whole building as their home and their units are just “bedroom”. Over 40 percent of the area is dedicated to common spaces to encourage mobility, so people don't stay in their units.
Thirdly, the centre is designed a support of community and social interaction. Inside the building, there are many feature rooms, such as game room, spa, exercise room, distinct garden, kitchen, business centre, etc. Corridors and open family room with benches promote casual interaction. Separate activity pavilion, garden with a labyrinth to draw elders from other parts of the campus to this destination
This brings the conclusion of our presentation. As precedent studies make a sense of experience, the research process is a way to think and help us get started to the project. At the time we were collecting andsorting out precedent materials, that we need to try to answer several key questionsduring analysing precedents. The purpose we providing 4 case studies in this presentation is to have a “vertical” and “horizontal” research, which is, research the elder centres in contemporarysociety but in different countries and in the same country, but elder centre in different periods.