Home for the Elderly Idrija

Idrija, Slovenia

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Home for the Elderly Idrija

Idrija, Slovenia

Firm

Ravnikar Potokar architectural office

Type

Government + Health ›

YEAR

2011

SIZE

500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

The Home for the Elderly in Idrija will be constructed in two phases. On 6
September 2011 the first phase was completed. The completion of phase 2 is
expected in 2012.
The new conceptual plan retains the starting points, such as the
characteristics of the location, plot geometry, orientation according to the
four cardinal directions, and views of the church dominants on the north side,
and vistas towards the south and surrounding hills in the background. In
addition to being defined against this backdrop, the building is defined by its
purpose, as this is primarily a home, a residence for the elderly.
The programme of the residence is divided into three parts by means of
different levels:
- A partially open public space with diverse programme on the ground floor;
- Service part with an additional public programme on the underground floor;
and
- Four floors of the residential area.
The design of the building is conceived as a bright contemporary house with
links to traditional architecture. The basic motif of the building is the clear
volume with flat roof and full side facades with niche-like window openings and
inlaid open north and south facades which are additionally motivated by inlaid
wooden cubes. These cubes represent single-family houses, they are in a way
paraphrasing former “little houses” of the home’s residents, only this time these
houses are under the same roof. The idea/motif of smaller units covered by the
same roof was already used by Plečnik in his project design of houses under the
municipality roof. Both inside and in the outer architectural envelope
predominantly natural materials are used, thus enhancing the feeling of
homeliness.