124 HEALTHCARE
almshouse typology where possible, in a variety of schemes.
RCKa has successfully persuaded its client Retirement Village Group (RVG) that prioritising placemaking and thoughtful landscaping as well as sociability and connectivity is the way to build longevity and well-being into its schemes, as witnessed in RCKa’s first scheme for RVG, Wyldewood. And now the practice is integrating almshouse typologies into new schemes for this
private developer turned developer/operator, going through planning at West Malling in Kent as well as one in Essex, at Froghall Lane, Chinwell. Both former greenbelt sites, RCKa has varied positions, typologies and landscaping to create points of distinctiveness and interest, drawing residents and visitors into and through the sites.
With schemes of the quality and ambition featured here, one hopes that UStSC’s
Craddock is right when he predicted: ‘If you build something of exceptional quality, people are quite happy to give up their big family homes and move in.’ But it’s interesting to note that the Scandinavians are still leading the way, on aesthetics as well as sustainability – retrofitting listed 1970s modernist corporate buildings as aspirational later life apartments (see Villa Vuoranta case study).
CASE STUDY VILLA VUORANTA
A mid-century modern icon by the sea, in Finland, built as a training centre for the national alcohol retailer and manufacturer Alko, in 1970, has been rescued from dereliction and converted into elegant and aspirational community housing for the over 60s.
Designed by Helmer and Pirkko Stenros, the building was used until Finland joined the EU and opened up alcohol sales to competition. From the mid 1990s it lay empty, apart from brief stints as a hotel and temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. Demolition was proposed but thankfully avoided when the local municipality declared it a protected site of architectural significance in 2005, extending that protection to the
natural, coastal setting so that no new developments could ruin its idyllic location or the uninterrupted vistas onto the sea. Restorations began in 2021, but it was only when Evli Bank’s sheltered housing fund Evli Healthcare acquired the site that the plan to turn it into retirement apartments evolved.
The heritage protection called for innovative and careful refurbishment by restoration architects Avarc Architects, under Marco Salo. The building was stripped down to its original, in situ cast concrete frame, removing a huge amount of moisture-damaged insulation. Salo chose to increase the depth of the building towards the courtyard in order to generate the necessary floor area for a substantial shared leisure and activity offer to be built into the accommodation. The client, Salo and interior architects Studio Puisto evolved a design that
focused on maximising enjoyment of the setting as much as enjoying the communal activities. The social prospects benefit from a shared lounge with fireplace, spacious dining area, sauna, and fitness and activity rooms. Studio Puisto also sought to create soft, warm and tactile interiors that brought up to date the original, nature-inspired interiors from Pirkko Stenros, which
in turn was inspired by the pine forest and beach into which the building nestles. Warm, wood panelling features in the generous, open-plan social spaces and foyers, and that same pale pine, along with a palette of natural colours and natural materials, have been deployed across furniture and fittings. When the original architect, Stenros, visited the site post-restoration, he declared: ‘I couldn’t have imagined a better use for this building.’
Client Evli Healthcare Original architects Helmer Stenros
Restoration architects Avarc Architects Project began 2021 Completed 2023
ALL IMAGES: RIIKKA KANTINKOSKI
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157
