A new way to get old
The Housing Design Awards this week showcase imaginative housing for older people, which made 好色先生TV recall a care home in the Netherlands described as a 鈥渟eptuagenarian Willy Wonka-esque dream鈥�.
The negative associations we have with such facilities in the UK makes this sound like a strange, ironic joke but Humanitas Apartments for Life took a different approach. Our architecture critic remembers it as 鈥減retty special鈥�.
It rejected focusing solely on the medical problems of some residents, concentrating instead on making sure they had as much enjoyment and control over their lives a possible, with an 鈥渆xtended family鈥� dynamic. Medical care was still important but kept more in the background.
There was a community-based kind of co-living vibe, boasting 鈥渞egular disco nights, film screenings, a beauty parlour, hairdressers, a museum, a sculpture garden, a restaurant teeming with sugary treats such as apple pies and double chocolate puddings, and an on-site bar freely licensed to serve as much alcohol at it likes鈥�.
I鈥檒l drink to that.
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