Bowthorpe Care Village
Services
- Architecture
- Electrical Engineering
- Interior Design
- Landscape Design
- Mechanical Engineering
- Property Consultancy Services
- Name
RICHARD GAWTHORPE
GROUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BSc, MRICS Building Surveying, RICS- Telephone
- 07702 556965
- Richard.Gawthorpe@norsegroup.co.uk
- View Biography
Project Summary
The Architectural delivery team worked closely with both Stakeholders, Staff and
Resident’s groups to understand what truly mattered in terms of designing a building with resident’s care at the heart. The team utilised the ten elements identified by HAPPI (Housing for Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation) which are critical to achieving age-inclusive housing:
• generous internal space standards
• plenty of natural light in the home and circulation spaces
• balconies and outdoor space
• adaptability and ‘care aware’ design which is ready for emerging assistive technologies
• circulation space that encourage interaction and avoid an ‘institutional feel’
• shared facilities and community ‘hubs’
• plants, trees and the natural environment
• high levels of energy efficiency, with good ventilation to avoid overheating
• extra storage for belongings and bicycles
• shared external areas such as ‘home zones’ that give priority to pedestrians.
Project Overview
Bowthorpe Care Village consists of three main buildings: NorseCare’s Mayflower Court: an 80-bed specialist dementia care home, The Meadows, Saffron Housing Trust’s 92-apartment housing with care scheme and a central Village Hub which connects the two. The aim of the development was to promote active ageing, with a central Village Hub providing living, dining and café facilities, meeting rooms, well-being and activity suites, hair salon, shop and treatment room.
The design process was enhanced through the facilitation of key stakeholder workshops; these enabled resident care to be placed as the highest priority. In doing so the design, construction, operation and maintenance addressed the following areas:
• providing ‘person-centred’ care in settings that are familiar, whilst also promoting resident independence.
• supporting the HAPPI Principles
• challenging the institutionalised perception of care housing, thereby raising the aspirations of older people.
The design principles ensured current and future residents now benefit from modern and spacious environments having designed the site with the user in mind. An example of this is the bedsits and apartments, which exceed the national minimum CQC standards by 25%, enable our client NorseCare to provide improved and more appropriate care.
Project Impact
This project was Highly Commended for the ‘Community Benefit Award’ at the East of England RICS Awards 2017