Ain Anoub, Lebanon, 2018
“When the elderly are not honoured, there is no future for the young” – Pope Francis
Our vision is to create an elderly care center that is sustainable. A project that caters for the physical, mental and social wellbeing of its elderly users, generates income to insure continuity, contributes to the well-being of the local community and reduces the impact on the environment by adopting energy efficient measures and integrating the landscape into the lives of the residents.
Extensive research was carried on to develop a contextually appropriate program and design. Local cases studies were visited and critically analyzed and international guidelines on wellbeing and elderly-friendly design were taken into consideration throughout all design stages.
Accordingly, the programmatic elements adopted, and their relevant users, include:
- Daycare center, to support the health, nutritional, social, and daily living needs of local underprivileged senior citizens.
- Physiotherapy center, to provide treatment , generate income as well as to teach physical therapy and train students from local universities in the future.
- Assisted living accommodation, to provide paid long-term accommodation for autonomous senior individuals that require supervision with their medicines.
” A garden is a friend you can visit anytime ” The concept of the architectural design, is to have a series of interconnected buildings that surround and create gardens of different characters. A unifying path links all major spaces on site, strengthening social bonds between the users while also functioning as a strolling promenade that evokes a sense of mystery and curiosity as one moves for one space to another. Each building incorporates different open and green areas so that the inside and outside spaces are constantly relating to each other, establishing an open dialogue between nature and architecture.