The 80+ year old population in France is projected to grow 104% by 2035, and already a lack of public funds stretches elder care facilities thin*. As life expectancy increases, a global consideration of so-called “silver architecture” has entered the design world, specific to this sensitive and growing demographic. While Naud & Poux might not ascribe to this specific classification by name, they are certainly operating in the same sphere.

The home, which houses 160 residents total (with 24 units devoted particularly to those with Alzherimer’s) is designed to blend into the surrounding Paris suburb, so its outer appearance is like an archetypal suburban house. The repeating parallel lines in the building’s interior and exterior create directionality and simple framing devices for orientation. Multiple and varied access avenues were also a priority, to connect the facility to the outer world as well as ease the ins and outs of residents, staff, and visitors.

From the architects:

Those who enter in a retirement home today were fifty years old in 1980. They are used to modernity. Why give them something outdated and pastiche?

A major road shaped all thinking for the building’s design, i.e. offering residents an augmented human presence thanks to greater nursing-staff availability in accompanying them through a humanized environment. The service spaces are distributed along the main circulation areas to ensure that the establishment runs efficiently and that the nursing staff enjoy an effective working tool.

The living quarters are coupled two-by-two around a vertical core containing a stairway and elevators and provide views onto the mall and inner gardens.

The project also undertook to offer a living framework that harmonized with the scale of Villejuif’s existing plot. The volumes are intentionally simple in order to reflect those of the surrounding suburban fabric. A network of streets and access roads, extending the existing network, has been implemented so as to open up the venue. Directing residents and visitors from outside and inside the establishment was an important consideration for bringing the operation to a successful completion.

Project specs:

Venue: 94800 Villejuif

Client: France Habitation

Program Manager: Sophie Cariou

Administrator: ARPAD

Project management team: Architects Élizabeth Naud & Luc Poux, architectes associés

Project leaders: Franck Grilo, Julien Ménard

Structural engineering research: scynA 4

Economist: Tohier & associés

Fluids engineering research: ETB Antonelli

Brief: To build a 160-unit nursing home including 24 for Alzheimer patients and 10 day units

HEQ® PROCEDURES (HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY)

Useful Surface area: 9,200 sq. m

Cost: €19.90 million excl. tax

Competition: Laureate 2007

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