Senior center (Dom seniorov) in Bratislava

Faculty of Architecture and Design STU in Bratislava

Project idea

Assigned land plot is located at Jančova street, near Bratislava Castle. Land elevation is 4.5 m. The primary goal was to design a modern senior center, where older people could feel at home. The whole concept is based on the social relationships of people. Contact between older people is vital, as well as the interaction with an environment and other age groups. It is essential to achieve a balance between social and private life.

For these reasons, my design includes private, semiprivate, semipublic, and public spaces. Older people can participate in discussions with younger generations in the café or chapel, can attend various workshops in the company of their peers, can enjoy the quiet in the communal garden, seat with friends and family on the terraces, or withdraw into the privateness of a personal room.

Project description

A facility that I have designed has 3 floors above and 1 floor below the ground. It consists of the following parts:

1) Ground floor, where social and administrative spaces (for example offices, laundry, canteen, workshop) are located. The facility is sunken into the slope in the northeastern end of the plot. Atrium for the elderly is located In its center. Chappel and café are located in the front side of the both are accessible by the public. Workshops are also located here, to provide a greater range of activities. They can be rented when older people are not utilizing them.

2) Two top floors, which primarily serve for housing purposes. From the passerby viewpoint, they should look like individual "houses". Rooms and flats are form 5 blocks, which are connected via a corridor. Rooms in 3 blocks form flats, which have their own kitchen and living room - deinstitutionalization of senior housing. The rest of the blocks are composed of individual rooms that are accessible directly from the corridor (detail of rooms can be seen in the "Used flats and rooms" drawing). Each floor has its own doctor's office and on the second floor is a bathroom with an assigned assistant. Corridors on the second floor contain, for example, places for reading, kitchen, and social spaces. Terraces and a communal garden are accessible from these floors.

3) Underground parking.

Technical information

The building is based on a longitudinal support system(combined walled and columned). The concrete footing is used. Cobiax system was used for the garage's ceiling panel. The living areas are cantilevered over the parterre and have deliberately increased attic to enhance the impression of separate cottages. The glazed facades are designed as pre-lined structures in front of the attic (Rheinzink). The input overlay is a triangular console. Wooden slats provide shading for the café.

Part of the roof is walkable - there are terraces and a community garden. A large part is made up of extensive grass roofs unavailable to the public. Off-road parking spaces are made of grass blocks (GeoSYSTEM is used - very unobtrusive after overgrown with grass). Fundermax exterior cladding is used on the façade of residential blocks - an imitation of a wooden look. The remaining parts of the building have a white Baumit exterior plaster on the facade.