This aged care facility, located directly on the banks of the river Rhine in France, has been designed to encourage residents to interact with one another.

Architect’s statement

The building consists of 25 fifty-square-meter homes, a restaurant in three sections, a computer room, a hobby workshop, a vegetable garden and a petanque field.

Everything is organised to foster relations among the residents: collective living spaces are as generous as possible, with abundant natural light. We have designed places that encourage exchanges and social interaction. Encounter-inviting sequences punctuate the routes.

The staircase stands at the centre of the building, rendering it unavoidable. In combination with the wide central space, it invites mobility. Upstairs, the patio brings light from the south into the heart of the building. The white volume inside seems suspended; it deconstructs the empty space and lends a certain strangeness.

Red concrete, terracotta and wood produce a benevolent atmosphere. Outside, the building is enveloped in brick on all sides. We selected a craft brick that is non-standard, irregular and occasionally misshapen. By emphasising its rustic port setting, the building connects itself to the history of the Rhine.

Photography by Eugeni Pons