Make someone look or feel better, younger, or more vital

By: Maliny Phang, Clara Alverina Chandra, Cung Thuy Anh Nguyen

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing” - George Bernard Shaw.

This project gives us a chance to redefine and challenge ourselves what is “aged care center”, does it have to be hospital like? Does it have to be a boring place with just brick and wall? Can care worker experience better working environment and quality?

We were very pleased to work with Brotherhood of St Laurence, to elders who live there, it is their home, their family, and they will spend the rest of their life there. Hence we want this place to be fun and colorful, the concept for this project is “How might space design boost the youthful mentality and support inclusivity and diversity of elderly people and staff in an aged care environment?”

To bring out their youthful mentality, we use activities and color to encourage eldelry and staff to “play” and be active. These activities include, adult playground, giant chess, minigolf, garden, arcade and lego. The exercise playground is designed for elders’ physical stimulation, such as finger stairs, wave bar and balance stool. Likewise, arcade and lego keep their mind busy, it also brings them back to their early age.

On top of that, color is used as wayfinding and to give each space their own identity. We use bright color in contrast with white to highlight doors, railing, column and garden edging, make it noticeable to elderly. Each area also painted in different colors, offering a variety of choices.