Creating a sense of home

Abstract: The project is an investigation in how architecture can support the sense of home and the spatial understanding in care homes for people with dementia.Many of the existing care homes from the mid-20th century need to be renovated and often have a more institutional design. In the project a typical care home from the 1970s, with long corridors, a complex layout and environments with little variety is being renovated to became more suitable for people with dementia. The building’s flexible structure of columns and beams is used as a great asset as it can open for different apartment types and a varied environment. The focus in the project has been to transform the building from being institutional to homely. During the 1970s care homes were usually built with a rational structure with a focus on individual apartments, but often with a lack of social spaces. The interventions in the building have been to open up the building and to create a more easily layout with more social areas. To enhance the feeling of accessibility in the building, and to better include the building in its surrounding context, the middle part of the building has been opened to the public.