You can listen to Episode S3E9 right here!
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Hello, and welcome to the Third Age Design podcast, sharing essential information on senior environments. I’m Lori Pinkerton-Rolet, and in this episode, we’ll continue our review of the ‘World Series of Design’ this time with a geometric building specifically for dementia, and built in Iceland. There are some intriguing concepts here, which you may wish to adopt wherever you’re based. Volcanoes are truly optional. And in today’s ‘Innnovation Spotlight’… when is a Wi Fi tablet, not a Wi Fi tablet? When it’s a table, and I’ll tell you more about that later in the podcast. American novelist and social critic the late Toni Morrison said, “If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower someone else.” Now, I’m certainly not going to say that we here at Third Age Design have power, but what we do have is a platform. And we use it to empower you and the residents living in care dementia and retirement facilities, the ones that you’re delivering for them. We do this by sharing information on senior living design from all around the world. Why don’t you join the people from 61 countries who are members of our community. If you haven’t done so already, go to our website at Third Age Dot Design and hit the ‘Join Us’ button and you’ll automatically receive this quarters ‘A TAD Extra’, exclusive information for our community members. Plus, it’s entirely free. The third age design podcast would like to thank Innovacare Concepts for partnering with us to sponsor the Healthcare Investors Seniors Housing Award for Architecture and Design of the Year. It’s being held on October 3 at the Hilton in London, England. Innova Care Concepts…the leading edge of health care. Okay, let’s get started. As I said a moment ago, our review of the ‘World Series of Design’ focuses this month on Iceland. Famous of course for its otherworldly landscapes, the Northern Lights, the Blue Lagoon and volcanoes. I really, really love this place and I’m planning on going back just to go again to the Blue Lagoon. But did you know that Iceland also had one of the first Parliaments in the entire world, that they have no standing army, and, shock horror, they have no McDonald’s. What they do have is a very unusual round care home for people with dementia, designed by Urban Arkitektar in Iceland, in conjunction with Loop architects in Denmark. My guest today is Gudmundur Gunnarson, who studied at the Arhoous School of Architecture under the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. He is Founding Partner at Urban Arkitektar in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he’s practised since 2015. Gudmundur, hello, and thank you for joining us today. I’d like to really begin by asking if you have a background in care and dementia design, as that’s what we’re focusing on today?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
I’d say no, actually, I don’t have a background in that sense. This is our first nursing home we are made. But we have participated in a couple of copies competitions on nursing homes. So we knew very well what was expected of us and we knew the programme. So, we have also designed apartments for the elderly. So there are aspects you have to take into account. And in the year 2005, we won on the competition on the University Hospital of Iceland, along with a Danish architect, firm, CF Miller. And this, we worked on it for a couple years or more. That gave us a very good insight into the care sector. So and maybe the most profound is influences. Two, three on their relative vanish into dementia.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Yes, it’s such an important area in this sector throughout time but more so as time goes on unfortunately. Now the Icelandic Government Property Agency I understand commissioned the Moberg nursing home, in Sellefloss outside Reykjavik, how did you become involved in that particular project?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Well, this was an open competition on the EU area. It was the Icelandic Government Property Agency that innovated to an open competition with in collaboration with the Icelandic Architect Association. And we decided to participate in this along with our friends in Denmark matter. Morton Newman’s partners of Loop Architects. We had just participated a few months before, in a competition on student house in Reykjavik at the University of Iceland. And then we when we received a third prize, and we decided to try again, and that time, this time, it went a little better. We can say that the competition programme instructed a design for 50 residents. But when we came to the award ceremony, the Minister of Health told us that they had decided to expand the nursing home, up around 20%. So they were not only 50 residents, but it went up to 60. And this This was something we didn’t expect.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And it was after you’d already won the competition?.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
So we stood there with competition results for 50 residents, and we were to build for 60. We had a rather complicated building that was round and this required a lot of changes in the building. And we had, when we looked at it, how are we to make this building bigger? And we had two options. One was to have one ward on top of the building. . And the other was, was to increase the footstep of the building. So after looking into this, we found out it would be best to make it just bigger not to build on top because we didn’t want to have the building so high, because it would not be as nice in the landscape. If it was one.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
That’s an important part of your design …
is yes. So we met signed a contract with the Icelandic Government Property Agency. And then we were considered responsible for the whole design team. So it was a big task. So we had to, we had to make our own team and I’m just going to tell you who were in this team, because it’s always great to mention those who participate, of course, and that was our firm, we are open architecture and the loop architects and then we had the structure engineering, engineers BSR International Reykjavik. Then we had acoustic engineer, which is Beckenstant, which is as is a Norwegian company, but has a person here in Iceland working. Then we have the light and electricity design, which was Liska. And then we had the landscaping, which was Harten-Stainer. And we needed some green specialists. This was Attler Engineers, and when to do things more interesting, and then we had an artist or sculpture artist named Alda Norta. So this was our team so where we started.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
A lot of consultants to coordinate their I’m sure,
Yes, it was very good. A good …, we worked really well together all of us.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
It makes such a difference with the team how you how well you communicate with one another and the way you understand each other’s way of working, isn’t it?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
It is it is very important.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And when you started this, you did the competition, and you did the competition on this on the basis of this round design which then you’ve explained you increased in size on the footprint by 20%. So it’s a larger round design. And this is particularly useful I believe for people with dementia. Can you explain to our listeners why that was a key consideration for you?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Yes, there were many one was that we’d like the round will be found it was very nice in the in the settings and so we that was one thing. And then we had, there were some things like the nursing homes management, because we found out that if we had the round building, we could have fewer personnel on the night shift, and then on the weekends, and that’s, I think that was important in the one that jumps the projects in the competition, when we show that. And there’s also this, we always have the shortest way, from, we can always get from A to B, if something happens, we always have the shortest way to get there.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
By going through the courtyard, on the exterior or
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
inside, they’re all connected. So you have very see and, and then we have another thing that decides helped us to decide what to have a round building was the landscape and the views. And what we found very interesting and important was that that was the different angle from each room and out into the landscape. So you didn’t get the same just as your neighbour, you got a little bit different from your neighbour. So it’s very interesting. And nice idea. So we stuck to that. And then we have this circle around building where we can, when the residents have this possibility to take long strolls, if you can say that, you can walk in one direction, you don’t want to have to go to and fro as you have to do in most wards today. So, you can walk through all the all the wards from one to the other. And, at the same time you have you go through with small the difference in colouring is not big difference. But you know, when you are in your colour you’re at home, so that
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
I was just going to ask about wayfinding… you could just go around in a circle forever. So you’ve done the wayfinding aspect through the use of colour then.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
yes, so you know, your flooring isn’t the same as in the other, and so on. And that’s one other thing is important is the openness, we have this openness to the to the courtyard, and we have the openness over to the other parts, you can always see into other areas. The common areas not into the rooms of the of the residents, but in all the common areas you can see from one area to another. So it’s interesting, important.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So it feels very open when you’re in the space, it feels communal?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
It is very… and we have long this this walk we have benches so you can sit down and look and look out and so on into the courtyard and sit and you know, see what’s happening around you.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
But you can also walk around on the roof, is that correct? So you know that that you’ve got this flat roof?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
We have this flat roof, but that I will tell you a couple later.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Oh, you’re laughing? It doesn’t have to do with snow.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
No, it has to do with economic.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Oh, go ahead and tell me now…
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
We had to drop the roof, because it was too expensive. So that’s one of the main things I regret. But, we have to we had got a lot of other things also, so we can’t complain in that way.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
When I was in Iceland, especially the first time, it snowed a lot. Yes. How well do flat roofs survive in Iceland with all of the snowfall and weight and the rest of it or is it just engineered out?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Yes, it’s just engineered out. Yes, this is and then you have this much huge insulation, so it’s not melting fast. And then we have also the roof. The tuft room that also takes up a lot of water. So it is not something that just goes quickly. It slows the fall the snow fall and the rainfall. So that’s a good thing.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And I’m just going to add one additional thought here.. Is, did you discover in doing the detailed design on a round building…do you feel that there was a substantial cost increase over more traditional shapes of buildings? And to go with that, do you feel that any uplift that did occur was worth it in terms of the end result?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
It was worth in the end result. But then then again, the question was, was it more expensive than traditional buildings? I think the main is a very simple building, even though it looks to be rather complicated. And the most, I can say that the design part needed more time than we would have used in, in square building, we say that you have to, there were many things..but we managed to make it very simple. And it’s… So I understand it was more expensive than a traditional building when it came to the last count.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
But the end result is something that’s specifically better in design, one could say, for people with dementia, they’re not going to get lost down a down a corridor, for example. They have special views everywhere. So yeah. And the other thing is, I’ve noticed this in Iceland in general, but you really appear to have used locally resourced raw materials like volcanic ash, of which there’s quite a bit there. And there’s also a lot of wood. But I didn’t actually see a lot of wood in Iceland. So what other materials are natural materials that you integrated into the project? And why?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Well, and this is a good question, because when we come to timber, there’s not much timber in Iceland. But there are some today that 400 years ago, there was hardly any. So forestry has increased a lot. We have concrete and timber is the main material in the building. And concrete has been in Iceland, the main building material for more than 100 years. And we can say the turning point of the use of the concrete is around 1940-1950, when we had very big fires, both in Reykjavik and in (not clear) where the big timber houses the most beautiful houses burned down to ashes. So and after that it was forbidden in Reykjavik to build houses of timber. So we went to concrete, and concrete was good, it was resisted fire. Another thing which made it good was that we had all the materials, minerals to put into the with the cement. So we, that was local material. So it was rather easy to get it everywhere in anywhere in the country. And the concrete is also weather resistant, which is also good in a country like Iceland, where you never know what you’re going to get. But another thing is, which is also very, very interesting or important, rather, is the reinforced concrete can with stand the earthquakes.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
That was going to be my next question. Absolutely, yes.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
So it’s good for the construction of a building. And where the Moberg stands today is one of the main earthquake areas in the south of Iceland. And therefore, it’s very important that that our construction is solid. And so that’s all right, it remained reason for that, but as we know, when we speak of concrete today, we’re this nearly a taboo to mention that word because of the sustainability and therefore we discuss a lot how what can we do? Because we need the concrete for the for the construction and our engineering person (unclear). He decided that we would blend concrete with ash…volcano ash.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Yeah, so it’s more sustainable.
So we have two kinds of ash really in the building but it became a much more sustainable than in the traditional way. But then, the other material we are using is timber and there’s not much of it in Iceland, but still we have that’s the most sustainable material we can use today. And, even though we have to transport it from our neighbours, that it is alright, that it’s alright to do that it’s still sustainable to do that.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
RIght…from a sustainable source. And I know sort of in, in Japan, for example, when they’re building and they have a lot of earthquakes for similar reasons it’s a volcanic area…they have to do lots of special things in terms of the ground works and supports. Did you have to engage in any of that? Or is it is it really the concrete, the reinforced concrete that’s doing the heavy lifting on this in terms of earthquake protection?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
It is the concrete that is doing the most, but as you spoke of the grounding or the fundaments under, then we came into a little bit of a problem, which delayed the building that was that we had to go nine metres down into the ground, part of the of the, of the area. So it was something we didn’t expect, nobody expected. So this was one of the things that delayed the building for some time. But it’s stands there now. So that’s good.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
One of the really incredible things about Iceland is the views. And I mean, there are beautiful views in many parts of the world. But because you’ve made a round facility, the landscape, both in the interior and on the exterior is so important. Can you kind of explain your design approach to using that landscape and making sure that some residents, as you were saying earlier, every resident has a slightly different view…but, how did you make sure no one got a bad view?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Well, one got a bad view.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
One, one room got a bad view?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Yes. Because as I told you, we had to as, we had to go close to the cliff on the site. And so it turned to the to this to the cliff. But what we managed to do was that we did some landscaping. So then you sit in the in this room, you get a more a Japanese, you know, this close, Japanese look, you’re looking into an area, which has vegetation and stone, and so on, so I’m told that the person that lives there is quite content with his views. But then again, everyone has views just by going out of the rooms and walk around the corridor and look into the garden or look up into… the we also have balconies that are shared, so people can go out on other balconies they have in their own area. And so…
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Did you have any difficulty with any sort of case goods? If a building is curved, putting in joinery and things that weren’t straight? The kitchen, for example, anything like that, were any of these issues for you?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
No, because, as I told you, the building is straight in many ways. That’s what we did. There are straight areas, what we did was we took the top of the building, the roof, which had reinforced concrete, which stands in a natural way, so it is completely curved, and we do also the same with the balconies, but the parts the area on the front are straight. So you never you don’t have any problems with that inside the building. So that that was solved in that way we have the when you are in a building you feel as if everything is in a curve or round, but it is a junction of many straight walls.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So that’s what you meant by the simplicity of the design, you’re able to put these elements, the geometry basically together so that it worked from all angles.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Yes, but still keeping the illusion that it is round. Totally round.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
I believe it was first occupied this building, little around a year ago. Have you visited? And are there areas that you think work best? And are there any that you would consider doing differently on future projects?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Well, that’s a good question. Well, well, that what we can say is, if I was to answer that… I have been to the nursing home a few times after it has been opened. And what pleases me is the main, the main purpose in the whole thing with that is that the residents are pleased with it, they, they feel the wellbeing is good. And they are happy. And family and friends, and loved ones, they like coming to the house and staying there. So I’m very happy that we succeeded in doing what we mean, it’s important that that the well being of the residents, and so I’m happy with that. Every time I’m doing something like this, doing a design, I always have one question for myself, and this is, would you like to live in this building? Would you like to work here? Would you like to stay here? Would you visit this? And if there isn’t, you know, yes, then I have to reconsider it. Because if not, then there’s something wrong with it.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
That’s a wonderful philosophy that really anybody could and perhaps should apply to their own practice.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Yeah, I think it’s very important because it’s always interesting. And so you asked also, if I would do things differently, differently in the future. But it’s, it’s every, every building is different. No one is the same. We have different criteria for the building, we even have different politics and regulations. As we time as we, you know, travel in the timeline. So it’s always this, we can… it’s very difficult to say what, what you would not you wouldn’t. And as I said before, the main thing is always the well being and the security of the residents as I think that is the main task for every architect.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And if you were to give one takeaway for other architects and designers who are approaching a project along these lines, where you’re looking at an unusual shaped facility, is there any specific advice or takeaway that you would give them?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
Well, this is to stick to their decision, to try to have the form they like. And instead of fighting, try to find a solution simply to try to simplify the building in the way that it is easier to build it but without giving away the vision.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So that all together you still have success in the vision that you’ve you’re setting out?
Gudmundur Gunnarsson
yes, that I think is important, but it’s also important to realise that you can’t always get what you want.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Think we all know this as well on various levels of our life. Gudmundur, thank you so much for your time and for going through this really really interesting project with us. I just would like to share with our audience that we have links to the project to Urban Arkitektar, etc. on the podcast page for this episode at ThirdAge.Design. Today’s ‘Innovation Spotlight’ comes from the United Kingdom, where think a lot of us have interactive tablets of some kind or another . But a 40 inch tablet? The Digital Rainbow, which for some inexplicable reason has a website called The Golden Rainbow, is exactly just that. It’s a fixed height or electric adjustable height interactive touchscreen table, but it’s got a 40 inch screen which is about 102 centimeters. So it can be used seated, standing, tilted, flat, horizontal…given its size it’s also on locking wheels, which is really useful. So we’ve probably all seen those interactive tables that have projectors where you can play games? So with this one, you can also play games. But you can also play the piano or another musical instrument, there are quizzes and trivia. You can watch YouTube, you can watch films, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and get this, you can Skype or Zoom family and friends. And there’s also a virtual reality option, which allows users to fly an aircraft or drive a train. So in short, I want one of these! If you’re designing a sensory your activities room, please take a look at the link on the podcast page of the Third Age Design website for direct link to this product. Time now for a monthly review of the TAD International Events Calendar. So I always check this out before I travel even if I’m going on holiday because I don’t want to miss anything. The 26th World Congress of Neurology is being held from the 15th to the 19th of October in Montreal, Canada. And in November, London, England hosts the Care Home and Retirement Living Conference on the 22nd. If you’re going to that one, please do drop me a line on the website at the contact page…and perhaps we can get together. And the 25th to the 29th of November will see the 10th Asian Conference on Ageing and Gerontology both online from anywhere, and in person, in Tokyo. Details of these events and others can be found on the International Events page at Third Age. Design. Thank you to today’s special guests Gudmundur Gunnarsson of Urban Arkitektar. To our producers, the incredibly handsome Mike Scales, the fabulous Valerie Adler of The Right Website, to Peter Thorne, who composed our theme music and his playing the piano with Mary Blanchard on flute and to you for joining us. Next month The World Series of Design looks at a rural village in France where every single resident has dementia. What does it look like, and how does it function? I hope you’ll join me to find out!