News
19.06.20
Community for the elderly underway in North Sealand
The demand for senior living communities is high. In the autumn of 2020, construction will start on a new senior living community Ydungaard in Værløse, where 36 new elderly homes will increase the well-being of the elderly. Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects is behind the design, which will allow the community to grow.
More than 100,000 elderly people feel lonely. One of the initiatives that can alleviate loneliness is senior living communities. As many as 91 percent of residents in senior housing communities experience increased quality of life, and 75 percent experience better social relationships. It shows a survey from Realdania that forms the basis of the ‘Space and Community for the Elderly’ campaign.
Demand for senior housing communities is far greater than supply, but now there is one more way – Ydungaard in Værløse. The City Council of Furesø Municipality has just approved that Værløse public utility housing company builds 36 older homes starting in autumn 2020.
“We have chosen to build a senior housing community just because there is a need in the municipality and because it is the kind of housing that is in demand. With the construction, we want to create the framework for a good senior life in a housing department where they can grow the community. It is the whole basic idea of the building that has a centrally located community house,” says Niels Teinhart, chairman of Værløse non-profit housing company.
A meeting room with care in the center
The residents will have the opportunity to grow the community in a cluster building centered around a community house designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter.
“We know that loneliness is a problem for many elderly people. Architecture can avert that with simple grips. Here we have formed a central room, where the housing is located around a community house. The intention is to create a social gathering space where you can choose the community as needed,” says Torsten Stephensen, partner at Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects.
The design of the new development is inspired by the Nordic architectural tradition.
The small townhouses become white and plastered with fields in gray-brown brick. All the dwellings are illuminated with high ceilings and with living areas facing the common greenery. Large window areas provide strong visual contact with the surrounding landscape.
Scattered on the grounds, sheltered outdoor spaces like covered terraces, should motivate the elderly to go outdoors.
“The vision is that the architecture provides both quality of life in the form of good housing and at the same time contributes to creating a safe area where the residents take care of each other,” says Torsten Stephensen.
The project is a total of 3,385 m2 distributed over a community house and 36 homes with 2, 3 or 4 rooms.
Construction is expected to be ready for move in January 2022.