The living spaces in the “residents’ quarters” of 51N4E’s care home extension in Nevele, Belgium, are apparently designed to open onto the wide single-banked corridors (Buildings May 17).

Nevele Care Home extension by 51N4E

Source: Filip Dujardin

The plan is almost entirely characterised by the deployment of individual rooms, with ensuite bathrooms, along a single-loaded corridor.

The review comments that “residents had yet to exploit this potential, choosing rather to congregate in the communal rooms”.

From a UK perspective, it seems to me that what the residents may be expressing through this choice is a reluctance to sit in these internal spaces. Dark rooms are not attractive to sit in and even though they look into wide corridors and terraces beyond, they would seem likely to remain uninviting, even if these corridors and terraces were to become colonised as the architects may have hoped.

It should also be noted that in the UK our fire regulations would certainly inhibit such colonisation.

Recent New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) research has shown that as we age and our sight dims, high levels of light bring mental health/wellbeing benefits (recognised intuitively by people in their choice of sitting spaces) and positioning living spaces in the centre of the building goes in entirely the opposite direction.

Perhaps BD could cover some recent British designs responding to the HAPPI principles or other successful and interesting schemes. I look forward to it.

Patrick Manwell
Hampton, Middlesex

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