Care Home of the Wind Chimneys / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
Care Home of the Wind Chimneys / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP © Koji Fujii /
Care Home of the Wind Chimneys / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
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Textual content description supplied by the architects. The care home invitations kids with intractable ailments and their households who’ve difficulties touring and assist them recharge their vitality for his or her each day lives. As a result of many households will come ready that it might be their final journey collectively, the consumer, “Dream for Youngsters with Intractable Ailments and Their Households,” desired a spot the place kids could be like kids and oldsters to be like dad and mom as an alternative of an austere facility that treats kids as sufferers and deepens the household connection by way of the journey expertise. Ought to the kid finally passes away, it will likely be a spot the place the household can revisit and spend time quietly to recollect. It was additionally requested for it to be a spot to teach individuals to achieve deeper compassion and kindness for others.
The ocean is seen from the second-floor degree, however the consumer wished for a single-story constructing surrounded by flora, as typical in Okinawa, the place the households and workers may seamlessly spend time whereas being conscious of one another’ s presence.
When designing, we imagined nestling near the our bodies of bedridden kids who stare upon a ceiling or window all day. With consideration of their eye degree and physique dimension, we positioned sliding glass doorways so they may benefit from the outdoors surroundings and wind even from a side-lying place, low entrances and ceilings, and eight m-deep wind chimneys about 1.8 m in diameter with a skylight on prime that may very well be appeared straight up when mendacity on the again. The wind chimneys take within the ocean breeze from excessive up throughout the day, whereas drawing the cool air from the shade of the north backyard by creating buoyancy-driven air flow.
For kids with bodily disabilities, the wind carries a whole lot of info; The ocean breeze that blows by way of the pine grove, the singing of bugs and birds, the perfume of indigenous flowers, and the humid scent of the tide and rain. We envisioned that this “surroundings of wind” (in Japanese, the phrase “wind” consists of two letters; wind and surroundings) would join kids with Okinawa’ s atmosphere. The plan has a round kind that opens up equally to the environment, with all rooms dealing with outward. The communal bathtub and living-dining-kitchen space the place individuals collect open up in the direction of the backyard with an abundance of pure gentle, whereas the 4 compact guestrooms are a bit darker and quiet for the youngsters who tire simply can relaxation.
We studied wind path frequency statistics by the Japan Meteorological Company and onsite survey and positioned the courtyard of water primarily based on the path of the wind that blows upward from the ocean and river beneath the cliff throughout the afternoon and downward from the mountains at night time. A cool wind blows by way of the water basin within the heart, induced by the temperature distinction with the periphery of the courtyard. Rain and wind enter by way of the glassless skylight, and illumination from the solar and clouds transition second by second on this introspective house. When sitting on a bench alongside the wall of this tranquil corridor, gentle spills by way of the skylight and displays on the water basin, creating ripples on the ceiling that quivers like a flame. We name this a “flame lit within the coronary heart” and understand it as an encouragement for the households.
From the spherical bench within the heart of the rooftop backyard, there’s a 360-degree panoramic view of the blue ocean, city, and sugarcane fields. Within the centripetal water courtyard and the centrifugal rooftop backyard—we ready the contrasting conduct of static and dynamic within the areas.
The out of doors stairs are designed to make it straightforward for workers and oldsters to assist a wheelchair from either side. Stairs which can be typically thought-about to be a barrier have been seen as one thing constructive and that set off compassion and recollections. That is primarily based on the philosophy of the consumer who stated, “Barrier-free designs defend their freedom and dignity, however we can’t get rid of all limitations. Somewhat, what is required is to note bodily and psychological limitations that exist for all of us, and perceive and assist one another. The limitations that immediate this, are wonderful to be right here.” The areas which can be designed for the attention degree and small our bodies of the youngsters as described above could also be inconvenient and generally be limitations for able-bodied individuals.
As a result of the place additionally serves to teach the able-bodied, we experimented with this strategy with a perception that imagining and merging with the physicality of others would function a basis of a barrier-free society. By way of such “follow of habits,” we intention for this place to supply take care of the society itself that we’re a part of.
