Senior Housing in Olot
Olot (Girona), Spain
Our goal was to design a building as if it were a big home. The plot is located in a residential area full of early last century houses, some of them with garden; this gives the neighborhood a particular environment. We try to incorporate this atmosphere when planning a home for the elderly.
We try to avoid the image of a housing block, looking for a more unified operation, a building with a clear beginning, rooted to the ground, and a clear end. The building takes the height of three floors only in the corner of Balmes square with Bernat Vilar Street, near the square, reducing the volume to two floors in the rest of the intervention to be integrated with the housing environment.
Below the deck we place a well oriented common area, with terraces on both sides and views to Olot and the mountains. As the roof descends and the space underneath is not high enough to be occupied, we locate storage and facilities. We exploit the roof’s strong slope in the south to install solar panels.
In the apartments we wanted them to have the best orientation. None of them is facing north but, instead, most are oriented towards the south-east and south-west.
The underground parking occupies half the building, leaving the possibility of extending to other services if users demand it in the future.
The remaining spaces are placed on ground level are. Since the plot is a bit plow under the street, we create more intimate gardens and an orchard adapted to older people, with benches for relaxing outdoors. We have opened the common areas to the main garden. It is also on this floor, and overlooking the garden, where we find the laundry. We wanted to promote common activities, and thus coexistence.
Project data
Area
4.300 m2
Year
2007
Status
Competition
Client
Private – Fundació Hospital St. Jaume d’Olot
Team
Main Architect: Carme Pinós
Architects: Juan Antonio Andreu, Marco Tapia, Roberto Carlos García
Infografía: Alejo Park