<
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/nov/01/retirement-home-alpine-spa-appleby-blue>
"If you hadn’t walked in from a stretch of bustling city life, you’d be
forgiven for thinking you were in an Alpine spa hotel. Water runs along a
channel beside a lush bed of ferns in a sunny courtyard, before tinkling into a
shallow pool beneath the dappled shade of mature ginkgo trees. On timber-lined
walkways that wrap this tranquil space, some residents sit on benches outside
their flats while others tend to herbs in the rooftop garden. The only signs of
the rat race are the red double-decker buses, visible from the courtyard
windows of this new almshouse in south London.
“People are so often pushed to the margins in later life,” says Martyn
Craddock, chief executive of United St Saviour’s, the charity behind this
handsome new block of social housing for over-65s. “We are here to provide an
option for people who want to live independently in the centre of the city –
and have fun in their later years.”
The word almshouse may conjure images of medieval paupers living a monastic
existence, squirrelled away behind high-gated walls. But Appleby Blue, as the
building is named, has been conceived as a lively social hub for its residents
and the wider community. “It’s the opposite of a retreat,” says Stephen
Witherford of architects Witherford Watson Mann. “The traditional almshouse was
often a U-shaped courtyard of homes, with social spaces shielded away from
public view at the back. We’ve turned that around and put the heart of the
community right on the street.”
A huge wooden bay window projects out from the five-storey purple brick
building towards the busy main road, framing a cosy space of armchairs and
sofas where residents can sit and watch the world go by. “A group of us often
come here with our bottles of wine on a Saturday night,” says Rob McCleary, who
moved in with his wife, Sheree, in July. “It’s nice that we can see all the
goings on in the street, and people wave at us from the bus. I’ve requested
some treadmills too, so we can exercise with a nice view. The Shard looks
amazing from here, all lit up at night.”
From the street, it makes a compelling shop window for what an enriching later
life can look like. Behind the bay window are rooms for hobbies and crafts,
and a large multipurpose room that plays host to film nights, yoga sessions
and dance classes, designed, says Craddock, “to feel like a proper community
asset and not a residents’ lounge”.
St Saviour’s, which was founded in 1541, near where Borough Market now stands,
is also a grant-making trust, funding local groups for refugees, youth centres
and music and arts. The idea is that these groups will make use of the new
space, helping it to feel like an integral part of Bermondsey life, not a
secluded retirement home."
Via
The Fixer November 8, 2023:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/california-farmers-drought-agave-spirits/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
