Eksterlaer Residential Care Centre
Within the context of increasing standardisation and commercialisation of the practice of elderly care, the margins to provide a more personalised and homely atmosphere for residents become ever narrower. However, POLO Interior Design welcomes this challenge. These kinds of projects require a thorough understanding and mastery of the many technical and regulatory frameworks which determine the design of these facilities. It is only through our long-standing experience in health and care design that we are able to find the leeway required to inject these spaces with some personality and uniqueness.
We find that within these spaces one should not try to be too contemporary or modern, and cater for a clientele that generally appreciates a certain restraint and domesticity. We want to create room for these more traditional leanings, while avoiding the pitfalls of kitsch and petit-bourgeois tastes. “Design” still has a role to play within these environments!
Soothing security
In our search for an ambience that is comfortable and familiar, the safety and wellbeing of the future occupant is obviously of prime importance. One way this comes to the fore is in the need for sufficient contrasts in colour within the living environment, in order to provide orientation points for the ageing resident . We see this for instance in the use of different materials for door leaves versus doorframes, but also in the application of differently coloured floor finishes for corridors and rooms.
The scope for any ambitious interior design input for the private rooms is very limited; requirements for sleeping and bathroom facilities are so stringent that we have to limit ourselves to select the most pleasing looking materials and fittings that provide a muted, neutral background. This is also a kind of modesty vis a vis the future occupiers of these spaces: they bring with them a whole life’s history and should be allowed to decorate and furnish their rooms with the things that are precious to them and represent their personality and memories.
Sensory stimulation
This leaves a few communal spaces for us where we can be a bit bolder and imaginative in order to stimulate the occupants’ creativity and tease out their joie de vivre.
First of these is the salon where residents have their hair cut and groomed. Within a residential care home this is a significant and meaningful place, where looking after people’s appearance and wellbeing goes beyond the daily grind of necessary medical care; it is a kind of ritualised space where residents find a sense of self-worth and dignity. In line with this we propose a more whimsical decoration, covering the walls with a wallpaper with striking jungle motif. This proved wildly popular among residents. A big semi-circular mirror adds to the playful atmosphere. Here is a place for the ageing man or woman to dream away and forget about the daily worries, getting in touch with their inner child again.
The cafeteria is the prime meeting place in any elderly care centre. We design a central bar sculpted out of robust terracotta-coloured MDF boarding. The wall and cabinet behind are clad in herringbone-patterned wood-look HPL; this covering wraps around the corners, articulating the storage room behind as a freestanding cube within the space.
Dividing walls for the offices and meeting spaces on the ground floor are glazed to preserve a sense of spatiality within the tight space. Within these transparent divisions we provide solid panel doors, again helping with orientation and way-finding. Mesh curtains in warm hues provide privacy— not only in the offices but also in the residents’ rooms upstairs.
