Deep Green Care
This is an aerial overview of a ‘concept’ scheme we have developed for a new type of residential care home proposed by Deep Green Care.
A bird's eye view of the concept scheme
We began by thinking very carefully about arrangements of rooms that could meet the operational needs of a care home, which tends toward units of around 25 beds, at the same time as minimising the feeling of an institution. This led us to create clusters of 8/9 rooms, three of which are then clustered around an internal courtyard/atrium, where there are also support rooms and social spaces. At the same time, we developed a typical room type which is laid out to have windows on two sides, to give the best quality of natural light. Combining these together around a central hub where larger scale support and social spaces are grouped, we developed the form shown here (for the purpose of the concept scheme, we have assumed a site with a slope, so that there are two storeys at one side, and one at the other, to give 75 rooms).
How have we come to be working on such a project? Well, about a year ago, we had an intriguing email, asking if we would be interested in working on a concept scheme for a new model of residential care, one that was at the same time concerned to be seriously sustainable, and at the same time deeply humane, looking to connect these two concerns in a holistic way.
Of course, we said; ‘Yes, please – right up our street’.
We were lucky to get this chance – Julie Hotchkiss, the founder of Deep Green Care, happened to be good friends with David Whitehead, an architect I used to work with at MJP, and naturally asked him if he was interested. Earning my deep gratitude, David recommended us as perhaps more suited to the project, and I met with Julie shortly afterward.
The Deep Green Care proposal comes directly from Julie’s life experience. As someone who needed care after a serious illness, and found the available options unappealing, she;
“resolved to create the sort of community I would like to live in, should the need arise”
It appeals to me powerfully, as someone who has always tried to work in a ‘holistic’ manner – always aiming to consider the totality of a situation, as far as one ever can – that the sustainability of the building could tie in with the sustainability of the lives of the people who will live and work in it (better environments in residential homes have been proven to lead to longer life).
For me, one of the most engaging aspects of the proposal is that it aims to soften the distinction between permanent care in a residential setting at one extreme, and living at home with visiting carers at the other, by providing a range of building types around the central residential building. This might mean that someone in the early stages of a degenerative disease might live perfectly normally in a normal house in the grounds, accessing care services only when and if needed, secure in the knowledge that, over time, additional care would be available and that if eventually it becomes necessary to stay in the central care home, family are close at hand, and can visit on an informal basis. We have suggested that existing houses that adjoin the site, but have front doors on surrounding streets, could be bought, with links being made via the back garden, so that people can live on a normal street, as part of a normal neighbourhood, while still having good access to services.
Anyway, there is a great deal more to read about Julie’s ideas for Deep Green Care on her blog, if you want to know more. It’s a fascinating idea, and we are hopeful that they will find a suitable site soon, so that we can begin to work on a real, rather than an abstract, scheme!