Ålderns höst och vinter vår och sommar; an assisted living facility with strenghtened connection to nature for the well being of the elderly residents

Abstract

A resident at an assisted living facility in Sweden today spends almost all of their time inside, which affects them negatively. The residents often depend on the staff to get outside, and the units are quite confined and does not encourage the residents to leave the unit. The residents are not supposed to wander off. This leads to them being almost trapped inside, cut off from the outside world, the society and nature. Since there is a lot of research showing the positive impacts on the wellbeing for human beings with contact to nature and daylight, this thesis investigated the possibilities to create an assisted living facility with a closer contact between inside and outside. Through literature studies and case studies, a series of design strategies are presented, and from that, a design for a residential healthcare facility is proposed in Bräckeparken in Gothenburg. Based on the salutogenic approach, the residents are encouraged to do as much as they can themselves to maintain abilities and therefor a close and easy connection to nature is preferable in a home for people with different kinds of disabilities. If the climate in Sweden is added to this, the connection also needs to remain in all kinds of weather. The contact with nature starts already in bed with large french balconies and windows over a corner, allowing even a bedbound resident to keep in contact with nature. The apartments also visually connect to the bright corridors and social areas, encouraging the residents to move outside their apartment. Outside the apartments is daylight, gardening opportunities, social spaces and views towards the garden. The doors to the units can stay open, leading the residents to a wintergarden which provides a safe and nice place to be and leads further on to the garden. The garden itself provides a series of spaces accessible for the needs of the residents and different weather conditions. In zones, from completely inside to completely outside, the residents should be able to experience nature according to their own abilities, every day, all year around.