Day Care Center for People with Alzheimer's Disease / studioVRA

Curated by Clara Ott

Architects: studioVRA
Area: 15823 ft²
Year: 2019
Photographs:Javier Bravo Photography
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Cortizo
Lead Architects: Rubén García Rubio, Sonsoles Vela

Text description provided by the architects. The new Day Care Center for People with Alzheimer's Disease in Benavente (Spain) arises from the aging of the region's population. When designed, there was no proven scheme for this typology, despite the growth of the disease in recent years in some regions of the country. Hence, the initial program only specified the inclusion of spaces for cognitive and physical stimulation activities, with dining and rest areas for fifty users. Therefore, the first task was to understand the logic of this typology and crystallize it into an architectural scheme.

Another important starting point was the Center's location within a double boundary situation (territorial and urban). On the one hand, the town is located on the periphery of the great Castilian plateau, so it is endowed with a particular topography: between hills, valleys and plains, with a historical condition of crossing roads, and some of the main arterial roads of the country. On the other hand, the plot is also located within a municipal boundary area, on a hill with a steep slope between an expansion area and farmland. This situation emphasizes the conjunction of landscapes in the building again.

Day Care Center for People with Alzheimer's Disease / studioVRA - Exterior Photography, Brick — © Javier Bravo Photography

Day Care Center for People with Alzheimer's Disease / studioVRA - Interior Photography, Door — © Javier Bravo Photography

These ideas motivated the positioning of the building in the upper part of the plot to facilitate a stratum of it to rotate and tear the slope to create a new plain area. Then, in a second movement, part of that stratum rises another level vertically to protect the building on its urban front. Thus, a new line of the horizon is created, the main subject of the building, which not only symbolizes the synergy of the community in the face of this disease but also dialogues with the landscape.

Once on the surface, the emerging stratum is excavated to house the different spaces. These are divided into four zones according to their degrees of privacy and use. Two large retaining walls extend outwards to mark the entrance and separate the public spaces (differentiated as administrative and multipurpose areas) from the private ones. At the same time, the latter is articulated around two corridors of great width, their diversity assists in spatially orienting visitors. From each of them, the rest of the private spaces can be accessed. One provides access to the most frequently use. Thus, it is designed with a clear and resounding scheme that optimizes the operation of the building, allowing for simple, simultaneous and independent use of the different areas and a maximized use of its energy resources.

The rest of the plot (developing in a second phase) is a large two-level garden. However, both are conceived together due to their common conceptual origin, and the upper garden extends itself over the green roof and water storage. Hence, the building is related to the landscape both formally and materially. This area is conceived as the largest room in the Center, as it encourages outdoor activities and assures users direct contact with the outside and the landscape of their memory