Mikado Care Home
1st Prize, private study competition in two phases
ATP Zurich has won the study competition organized by the “Amalie Widmer” Foundation for the refurbishment and expansion of the Mikado Care Home in Horgen, Switzerland. The objective of the modernization project is to adapt the building complex, which consists of a series of elements built at different times, to the latest standards and to create a generous and comfortable care home. The concept from ATP Zurich remodels the existing buildings into a compact, efficient volume while making full use of both the gap between the care home and the residential building and the roof to the delivery courtyard in order to avoid reducing the amount of green space.
The interior of the care home feels like a village, with light-filled public spaces, externally-oriented communal areas and free-standing internal volumes. This offers the residents a wide variety of walks. The communal areas offer panoramic views of Lake Zurich, the city and the Albiskette. The bare roof of the rooms to the south are transformed into the dementia ward’s own “dementia garden” which offers possibilities for taking a sheltered walk as well as broad views across the surrounding area.
“Our objective is to create rooms of a consistent high quality with bathrooms in all sectors as part of a concept that can be applied to all residential facilities”, says Ulrike Feucht, Head of Design at ATP Zurich, describing the concept behind the rooms. Each room offers a range of possible variations. In this way, the rooms can be equipped both functionally in order to help the care team and in line with the individual requirements of the residents.
The compact design of the building and the central organization of the functional spaces reduce travel distances for the personnel. Each level contains one care ward with two independent residential groups. The central nursing station and associated rooms are also efficiently organized on each level. The layout of the building is enhanced by niches on the corridors where one can meet or take a rest. Each residential group has a dedicated entrance to the internal block of rooms. These also offer direct access to the external pathways through the adjacent “garden of the senses.”
Competition team: Ulrike Feucht (Head), Esperanza Martinez Avilés, Caterina Guglielmi, Jana Schall, Christa Schmidt
