LIVING IN GREEN. Intergenerational coliving.

Reductions in both mortality and birth rates is causing the ageing of population in western societies, a new situation that needs to be reflected from architecture. The project needs to transcend the concept of nursing home by proposing a housing typology where elderly people can improve their quality of life in terms of their new needs. Knowing the positive impact of intergenerational relationships on health, it is proposed to design a residential building where the youth and the elderly live in community.

Based on the concept of active ageing and focusing on elderly people’s physical and emotional needs, this project proposes the development of housing solutions to foster intergenerational relationships. Integration, independence, social interaction and identity are the basis of this thesis. To achieve this objective, the project proposes the “Coliving” tipology. This provides independent housing units and a considerable proportion of common areas that allow users to interact with each other and with the environment. This environment, furthermore, is integrated within the project strategies, since the neighbourhood and the city must also adapt to the new intentions of active ageing. The proposal seeks to give continuity to the quality spaces already present in the surroundings along with new ones. This allows to permeabilise the urban fabric and provide it with the public character that the area currently lacks. The building itself looks for integrating the surrounding greenery through a gradation of spaces that bring porosity and permeability to the project. Biophilia is key in the proposal to improve the health of the residents: the inclusion of vegetation; the staggered shape of the building in order to provide as much natural light as possible; the adaptation to climatic conditions; the promotion of natural ventilation; and the materials used are some of the strategies followed. Regarding the materiality, the resources offered by the environment itself are applied to the building to reduce the environmental impact of construction: common reed, wood, cork and ceramic are inspiring traditional materials that offer living, tactile and natural textures. This makes nature an active participant in the act of inhabiting and in improving our quality of life.