Seniors Housing & Healthcare Trends

LOS ANGELES: An architect has now completed a new care home community design which emphasises social interaction.

Developer-operator Country Court asked WGP Architects (formerly Waind Gohil Potter Architects) to reimagine an existing planning consent and introduce fresh ideas from outside the care sector, notably using the practice’s research and expertise in design for wellness.

The exterior is designed to reference the proportions and scaling of surrounding Georgian and Victorian terraces, while the light-coloured bricks pick up on those used on the adjacent 1960s Grade II-listed Brunswick Park school dining hall, designed by James Stirling and Partners.

The L-shaped plan, derived from the site’s geometry, is used to create a clear and legible layout, with a series of day spaces arranged around an entrance space at the fold where the two wings meet.

A key driver of the design was the importance of social interaction. Small double-height spaces are designed to act as lounges that offer views out into other parts of the home, and there is a rooftop bar and terrace for residents to have a meal or drink with visitors.

The design has created 10 additional rooms with half of the building pre-let to the local authority prior to completion.

Architect’s view

Camberwell Lodge gave us the opportunity to further our learnings into how we design care homes. They are micro-communities within themselves, with numerous and diverse functions and activities being offered in-house that would typically be found in the wider community. We saw this as a chance to enhance that sense of community and identity, with a contemporary design that was distinctive and characterful.

These buildings – arguably more than any other building type – need to delight. Any one of us may find ourselves in need of a care home in later life, therefore why not make them expressions of aspiration and inclusivity? To consider them at arm’s length, as places for ‘old people’ wasn’t enough. They’re capable of being thriving centres to spend valuable time with family and for the considerable numbers of staff to spend their time caring for their residents. They should be places that inspire, motivate and uplift. We generally have a responsibility for the designs we produce to challenge what is possible with care homes. There is a growing understanding that the less we marginalise the old, particularly those living with dementia, the better it is for the whole of society. We knew that maintaining the status quo for care homes wouldn’t be enough to meet the ever-increasing challenge.

As part of our redesign of the original planning consent, the corner geometries derived by the shape of the site were used to maximum effect, and a clear and legible entrance and series of day spaces were introduced around the corner of the L-shaped plan. We added 10 additional rooms and an enlarged rooftop bar and external terrace, which happened to enjoy impressive panoramic views across the city and to Canary Wharf – a great place for visiting family to share a meal and a drink with their loved ones while taking in the scenery. This includes a private dining room too for special occasions.

The design maximises natural light and connectivity within the building by using a series of modest double-height spaces which act as lounges but also afford views into other parts of the home that would otherwise be separated from each other. This aspect was an early aspiration recognising the benefits that social interaction between residents could provide, not to mention between staff and visiting families; all are seen as key ingredients to general wellbeing for everyone using the building, even if at a distance, sometimes.

The façades were reworked to reference the Georgian and Victorian Townhouses of neighbouring streets such as Addington Square and Camberwell High Street. They were developed to accord with both the client’s aspirations for a contemporary yet residential feel and those of the local authority, which was looking for both contextual references and a desire to articulate the overall building mass.

The result is a subtle division of the façade into a series of ‘townhouses’, albeit with contemporary use of timber in discreet areas, such as where the building addresses the corner of the plot. The external brickwork wraps into the internal entrance space and a light-coloured brick was selected to reflect the brick colour used in the Sir James Stirling and Partners 1960s Brunswick Park school dining hall opposite (Grade II listed). These aesthetic statements have to be carefully considered relative to the needs of the residents, so the interiors do change floor by floor and specific to the various requirements of those using the building, but all sit within the same family and embody the same approach to help give continuity throughout the building.

Camberwell Lodge is still, of course, a building that balances compromises, and the relatively constrained inner-London site meant efficiency of rooms, circulation and day spaces had to be kept in mind when reworking the designs – care homes still benefit from rational and efficient space planning as much as any building. However, the end result manages to build on user wellness and shows that such building types can be the focal point to a locale rather than a footnote.
James Potter, director, WGP Architects

Client’s view

We are invested in this exemplary, modern care facility and hope that it will be a wonderful home to all who live here and a great environment for the nurses and care workers who will be central to making it a happy home. Our aim with this project is to create an environment that promotes healthy living. By choosing to work with WGP Architects, we have been able to approach the project from a completely new angle, while still reflecting our usual family and community-led approach to care.
Alykhan Kachra, managing director, Country Court