Respite Care Home

John Court, Jan Hromada, Jake Lucier & Christina Puzon

Seattle

2009

Competition Brief

The purpose of this competition is to generate images depicting innovative possibilities for a new respite care facility. These images will be used by QWO as a marketing tool to potentially raise capital for the design and building of a new respite care house. Sustainability is included in the criteria for judging.

Awards

1st Place, Employee Choice Award

Statement

Beginning with analysis of the formal requirement of the respite care home in this neighborhood location, we considered the societal aspects of "home" vis-à-vis the opportunities of providing "care," in this case for both the individual guest and their normal caregivers, typically their family. From there we proceeded to integrate the precise elements of "home" and "care" which serve to symbiotically to support the other.

Unlike traditional house floor plan arrangements which depend of hallway circulation for separation between common and private spaces, we have created a common space which allows private spaces to enclose the common space.

Thus the floor plan is reminiscent of a courtyard design allowing a central community space that is open to sun and natural ventilation. The roof for the common areas, living, recreation, and dining is a translucent roof system, providing a primary source of natural light, softened to an ambient level. Each of these areas provides access to the outside and provides a secondary yet direct source of natural light and cross ventilation.

The conceptual distinction between the private spaces and the common courtyard area has been emphasized with different materials and a different roofing system. Private spaces are grouped into three modules which employ a green roof system to capture up to 75% of stormwater runoff in addition to the numerous environmental benefits. Overall, the design allows for maximum efficiency for the care of individual guests with developmental disabilities by providing private spaces around an easily controlled courtyard style common area.

The embrace of this design is restorative, wholly representative of Quiet Waters Outreach.