Retirement home in Prague – Žižkov – architectural competition

CONSTRUCTION, TECHNICAL AND MATERIAL SOLUTIONS

The construction of the house is a four-storey wooden building mounted on a monolithic reinforced concrete basement structure. The ceilings, walls and partitions of the wooden part are designed as sandwich constructions of prefabricated solid wood panels (CLT). The facade of the house is mostly wooden. Only the plinth is made of concrete cladding. Window panels with wooden frames are shaded by external blinds. The cladding of the full parts of the façade is designed from vertically placed planks and moldings, which are interrupted horizontally by cornice with plating.

The cladding grid gradually moves upwards from coarser profiles to more subtle ones. The mass of the house thus "disappears" towards the sky and it provides a "disappearing" appeal. The house is finished with a "crown" shaped by a slight opening of the facade of the top floor. The roof structure is designed as flat with an extensive green roof to increase rainwater retention.

TYPICAL FLOOR

Each typical floor contains seven double and three single rooms. In total, the home facility offers 21 double and 9 single rooms for 51 clients. Living spaces are oriented to the east, west or south. In the northern part of the typical floor there is a common room with a kitchen, a nurse with facilities and physiotherapy, occupational therapy and a music room with a library, which are individually arranged on the floors. The technical and common hygienic facilities are located within the central core.

RIGHT ANGLE AESTHETICS

The area around the new building is characterized by a modernist approach to the construction of rectangular solitary buildings in the park. The unifying direction in the location of houses and the aesthetics of the right angle reveal the spirit of the place and clearly evoke the addition in the same principles. The new house takes on the local atmosphere and complements it with a richer solitaire in a Mondrian right-angle grid. However, unlike its predecessors in wood-scented form.

ENTRY LOCATION

Fitting the entrance directly to the axis of the protruding risalitum closest to the street will allow a clear orientation not only for the elderly, but for all those who will even pass the house when traveling around. The generous entrance hall with arched benches and a roaring fountain will expand the public space and thus involve the new house in the events of the existing district. A café and a meeting hall with its own small garden will also help it to be connected with the local community. The entrance is covered and in case of bad weather offers plenty of space to hide.

PLOT DIVISION

The plot of the building is divided into 3 parts, namely the entrance hall, which will be publicly accessible without fencing; furthermore, the garden of the café and the hall, which can be separated by gates and can be used for independent operation and organization of events in connection with the indoor spaces; and finally to their own private garden. Parking is located in the basement to make the residential garden as large as possible. The semi-public and private parts of the garden are bordered by bushes under the surroundings to offer an intimate and undisturbed stay.

TRIP CIRCUIT

For an elderly person, the circuit around the house can be a real trip, so in addition to the "small" circuit in the main residential garden full of western sun light, we offer a "large" circuit throughout the garden with various stops along the way. The trail is run like a ribbon with small curves and serpentines so as to encourage clients to move, and at the same time it making it not exhausting for them.

ACTIVE GROUND FLOOR

At the level of the sidewalk, there is an active ground floor designed for the most traffic and human activity and movement. The upper floors are already residential and quiet. The lower floors include technical facilities. The ground floor level is characterized by a ballroom with a café, a day hospital, a shop, a doctor's office and a chapel. All rooms are clearly located around the middle core with a staircase illuminated by an opening in the roof. The lobby is still supervised by a busy reception desk.

COMPACT CORE

The tightening of the composition of the access roads will shorten the path from the vertical road to the door and will make the orientation on the floor clearer overall. This will be helped by placing the nurse station directly on the staircase and the elevator so that there is a good overview of the movement of people. Instead of long "hospital corridors", the house offers a pleasant environment on a smaller scale with bays in each room. The compactness of the core nevertheless allows daylight to penetrate through two large windows, and thus also views of the garden from the inner communication space. In addition, the central space is illuminated by a wide mirror of a three-armed staircase and offers a view of the sky. Minimizing corridors also means saving on construction costs.