Senior Housing - Interview with Cristian Turconi, team leader of the group's architecture department

Today, we are pleased to explore with you a topic that represents an important part of our business: Senior Housing, a system of independent apartments, organised around a series of additional common services, designed to meet the needs of elderly people. Inside these complexes, the residents can experience a new dimension of social life with the assurance of the utmost quality, safety and comfort. Socialization and well-being are promoted every day by the dual nature of these private homes, which respect privacy while providing residents with common areas where they can socialize.

Cristian Turconi, Team leader of the group's architecture department, tells us about this asset class as he presents its characteristics and explains what our group has learned in Switzerland.

What factors were analysed and what was your response?

Architecture is constantly changing and adapting to new needs, which are linked to social, economic, technological, political and demographic changes. In this sense, having an elderly segment of the population is one of the most significant changes of the 21st century: progress in the fields of medicine and technology have, in fact, caused the average life span to increase in industrialized countries.

The percentage of older people in good health are increasingly numerous and will increase considerably.

This has led to changes in seniors’ lifestyles: today’s seniors want to continue living independently for as long as possible, maintaining their routines and their social lives, and delaying the possibility of having to stay in a community care home.

Faced with this fact, we wondered how architecture could help provide a better quality of life and promote the autonomy, dignity and well-being of the elderly?

For this reason, we have designed an ad hoc product for those of our clients that cater to this type of target. We focused on removing architectural barriers and looking for an ideal location: a strategic position, easily accessible, with a good urban context and able to provide support services to make the social life of residents more engaging. All these factors have allowed our partners to offer their guests a serene and fulfilling experience.

You have already outfitted several residences in Switzerland. Can you tell us how they are structured and what their characteristics are?

?As I said before, we select central locations, within walking distance from stores, supermarkets, public transport, eating establishments, and entertainment venues so that the residents can continue to live their daily lives independently.

Lugano, Porza, Chiasso, Tenero and Bellinzona were the first sites where we developed this new way of living for senior citizens.

From an architectural standpoint, we focused on the internal concept of the home, and on creating an external identity for each property that fits well with its urban context.

Internally, we started by identifying an apartment "type" that was designed to meet the needs of the target customer. Every detail of our apartments - such as the right color choices, the technology, the shape, and the size - was designed to meet the needs of an elderly resident. This apartment model is very practical because it can be easily replicated in every residence.

?Moving on to the external part, we tried to create buildings that were not too tall with well-defined easily identifiable entrances and green outdoor spaces with vegetable gardens, where the residents can socialize or rest and read a book.

?In addition, the homes we designed are right next to normal residential areas. This will allow us to build multigenerational spaces designed to meet the needs of a larger public, made up of people who want to feel as if they belong to an active community.

What are the architectural features of the apartments??

We have created two different types of housing solutions. The first is made up of apartments complete with services, and it was designed for people who are still self-sufficient. The second consists of housing solutions designed for elderly people who can no longer live without assistance. Both types have been designed with all the architectural features and accessories necessary to ensure that an elderly resident can enjoy a comfortable life.

The apartments are designed to maintain the regular course of daily life. There are large living rooms where residents can welcome guests and relatives, and the rooms can be furnished with their own furniture and personal objects. All of the spaces are well organized and defined.

We have tried to make the personal spaces completely adaptable, and therefore able to accommodate changes in physical and mental needs (mobility, type of hobby, presence of a second person, etc.). In general, we have aimed to create the flexibility of an inclusive and tailored interior design, which is also completely customizable.

Our goal for this type of sector, at the architectural level, is to make sure the apartment doesn’t look like a nursing home or an institution. We want it to be welcoming and modern, and we want the residents to be able to continue living their lives normally and independently, with a healthy social circle and the safety of a dedicated community.