Wooden senior homes for genuine well-being
By Tanja Rytkönen 27.1.2017
Aging populations all over the world create new challenges for construction and the design of new types of accommodation. In addition to everyday living, it is time to think about the well-being of elderly people who require long-term care in a wider context.
How can good accommodations promote the physical and mental well-being of seniors in need of care? How could we facilitate a communal spirit and active lifestyle? What are the building blocks of good living in a nursing home?
Alternative solutions are needed
When the need for senior accommodation rises, the need for different alternatives rises with it. We need both public and private nursing homes that can meet these challenges as the individual needs of the customers are becoming more and more pronounced. Placing a premium on high quality and good living allow a service provider to stand out from the competition.
Using logs in nursing buildings has many benefits. If people are to spend a lot of time in a building, it is important to ensure that the building is comfortable, the indoor air is of high quality and the building is made to last using non-toxic materials.
Indoor air that is of high and uniform quality is an important health factor for all of us. Massive wood structures are breathable and they balance out temperature changes and maintain an optimal indoor moisture level. A tight log house also eliminates the feeling of draft, which makes living more comfortable for the inhabitants. Log is also an antibacterial material, which is a clear benefit in nursing buildings.
A nursing home must feel like home
High quality indoor air is not the only reason to choose logs as the building material. Wood’s unique look, pleasant and non-conductive surface and the natural atmosphere it brings with it speak on its behalf.
Senior home Emma in Germany is built with traditional round logs to create a welcoming, cosy, cottage-like feeling.
Traditionally, wood has been seen simply as an aesthetic building material. However, recent research has demonstrated that wood is much more than that. The results show that wooden interiors can positively affect people’s emotional states and produce stress-reducing effects similar to the well-studied effects of exposure to nature. This is why wood has the potential to improve people’s psychological health and well-being and it can be used to create healthy, warm and relaxing environments.
A nursing home must feel like home. When planning homes for seniors, the creation of a relaxing and cosy atmosphere can be easily facilitated with the use of wood materials. The well-being of the elderly can indeed be influenced by the building’s structural solutions and material choices.
For an example of a log-built senior home, take a look at Senior House Emma in Pottum, Germany, where the log house itself plays an important role in the well-being of the residents.
Living here is so natural. It feels as if you are on holiday.
Logs can be used to create a wide variety of buildings
Today’s log technology offers diverse building opportunities. The non-settling Honka Fusion™ log, a genuine Honkarakenne innovation, provides the opportunity to creatively combine massive wood logs with other materials such as stone and glass. A nursing home made of logs can also have a modern style. A modern, tight log house is also very energy efficient.
Log house concept for nursing homes
In order to facilitate our customer’s decision-making and to hasten the design process we have come up with a nursing home concept that provides an easily customisable basis for considering the unique needs of each customer. Honka concepts for public construction are signs of our devotion to the nursing sector and of our extensive experience in successfully completing such projects in all corners of the world.
The Puuhoiva concept is a care facility designed by Himla Architects who have an extensive experience in designing functional and inspiring senior homes.
Honkarakenne’s log buildings are made from structures that are safe and durable with test results to back up the claims. For an investor, our nursing homes present long-lasting and ecological targets that offer lasting value. These home-like senior houses are also sure to quickly fill up with inhabitants. The satisfaction of residents is the best selling point.
Take a look at our guide for Healthy Care and School construction that also offers useful information to builders and developers of other public log buildings!
MORE FROM THE BLOG: PRO LOG HOUSES
Log building is not limited only to small-scale private buildings. The material is very versatile and its benefits also scale up to large public buildings. Read on and get new ideas and support for your own building project!
