Society is aging at a rapid phase and the increasing technological possibilities make it possible that a solution or treatment method is found for many life-threatening situations.
As a result, the costs for healthcare have been increasing and because of this the government has decided to close a large number of care homes and thereby encourage society to take more care of each other.
The trend is therefore that a large proportion of the elderly want to continue living in their current environment, where they receive the care and support they need.
However in practice this is more problematic, because young adults often experience difficulties to provide care for their parents in addition to a busy full-time job. They are largely dependent on nursing at home by external healthcare authorities. In the Netherlands there is a shortage of informal care, which means that we as a society have to look at new combinations and ways of living.
It is therefore good to think about possible alternatives and the position that urban planning, architecture and housing in general may have in this. Other ways of student living might offer a good alternaltive. For example, a student can live in a complex mixed with elderly people, in which the student can provide in a social task to relieve the pressure on the informal and formal care system.
My design will respond to these political developments, thus meeting a need that arises from society and changing governmental policies. Furthermore the complex will become a building for an ever-increasing group of older people who want to continue living independently on the one hand, but on the other hand want to have the facilities that are important to them within walking distance and, if necessary, fall back on a social network that offers guidance and social support. Lastly, the role of collectivity played an important aspect in the design of my building. The definition of collectivity within the city reflects on building blocks and their relation with public and collective spaces. In what way should collective spaces within buildings represent the city as a whole? This could mean that public functions within the plinth could lead to more livelyhood within the building as well as the whole neighborhood or even the city. Functions of collective spaces within the city should represent the direct needs of the people who are using them, but at the same time not excluding anyone. The inclusive city is also part of a topic that we addressed from Richard Sennett’s book: Building and Dwelling. In this book he mentions the five open forms of the city. One of these five forms is “seed planning”, which could play a role in explaining how buildings are part of a larger ambition of Rotterdam in becoming a city of Making. Hereby ‘making districts’ or spots for making activities could have different outcomes on different places within the city, taking into account the specific needs of the direct surrounding community.