Learning from the Elderly – Reimagine Where We Live

Learning from the Elderly: A Culturally-Enriched Aged Care Home

In Aboriginal culture, elders hold a place of profound significance. They are the custodians of community history, traditions, and wisdom, which they transmit across generations. Their deep understanding of cultural traditions and the natural world makes them invaluable in communal decision-making, safeguarding the land, and advocating for sustainable practices. This bond between elders and the land is essential, with their knowledge encompassing everything from flora and fauna to natural resources, ensuring the continuity of environmental wisdom for future generations.

Building on this cultural foundation, our reimagined aged care home integrates the community with the invaluable experiences of each resident. The design combines residential spaces with learning environments, teaching areas, and collaborative spaces, creating a place where the community can Learn from the Elderly.

A Learning Centre

The heart of the facility is the Ground Floor Learning Centre, where residents offer classes to the community. These classes allow the elderly to pass on their knowledge and skills, fostering stronger connections between the residents and the surrounding community. This not only enriches the lives of the residents but also strengthens the cultural fabric of the community.

Adjacent to the aged care home is a kindergarten designed to facilitate meaningful interactions between the elderly and young children. By sharing a landscaped area with controlled access, the design encourages intergenerational learning, benefiting both age groups. This space provides unique opportunities for elders to engage with children, sharing stories and wisdom that enhance the learning experience for both.

Design Integration

The design also includes various communal spaces that foster social interaction and well-being. Library spaces, community workshops, and a metaphorical river connect the ground floor, creating permeability between the residents and the community. These spaces are flexible, allowing for various learning experiences and generational teaching. Resident levels are integrated with therapeutic gardens and a living atrium symbolizing the Tree of Knowledge. This thoughtful incorporation of landscape into the design is crucial for the residents’ well-being, ensuring that learning and healing occur across all levels of care.

To bring the facility’s narrative to life, the project includes a series of comics titled “Our Story of the Aged Care Home Begins with ‘A Day in The Life of Bianca’”. These comics offer a glimpse into the daily lives of the residents through Bianca’s perspective, making the design more relatable and engaging. This storytelling approach not only humanizes the design but also allows for a deeper connection between the space and those who interact with it.

Encouraging residents to pass on their teachings gives them a sense of purpose and dignity. The design is centered around the universal concept that learning from our elders is a timeless value. In a world where dementia can impact memory and behavior, this facility provides an environment where residents can embrace their current state of mind while maintaining their dignity and continuing to contribute to the community.

This project was a competition design completed in the summer of 2023 in collaboration with my friends Oscar Cruz Moncada, Peggy Teo, Hongrun Che, and Haoyang Wang.