INNOVATIVE HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
Developing a new form of assisted living
Open architectural competition 2008
1st Prize
Type: Residential / Health care
Location: Oulu, Finland
Year: Completion 2012
Size: 6500 br-m2
Collaboration with Martti Karsikas
Curated for MFA (Museum of Finnish Architecture) Exhibition: "Cure and Care - Healing Spaces Then and Now" 2015-2016
Published in Architecture in Oulu hardcover 2015
This project was originated by a winning proposal in an open architectural competition organized in 2008. The design is based on functional and contextual analysis. Brick wall forms a block completing an obvious gap by the roadside and protects the green residential courtyards connecting the moderately free-formed building mass to the surrounding cityscape.
The 2-story high part houses the assisted living units and services and complements the scale of the Valtatie -road, while the more independent residents live in a higher 8-story tower that mirrors the surrounding modernist ideals. Green courtyards connect to nearby parks and walkways.
Inside we studied efficient use of space by turning widened hallways into leisure areas for the residents. These spaces provide semi-private meeting places while creating a positive and variable environment in addition to residents' private spaces.
