All the little details matter

The Bavne Ager care home in Gilleleje in northern Zealand was built and designed to deliver what matters most to its residents. The care home is run by OK-Fonden. The care and respect for residents, which is at the heart of the care home’s philosophy, is reflected in a multitude of functional details - from using art as wayfinding to wellness in the bathroom.

Situated in sloping terrain, the care home comprises 72 flats and a range of facilities, with the blocks of flats being arranged around two open courtyards to which residents have access. The main entrance is on the ground floor, and just inside is a friendly communal café. In the zone between the two blocks of flats, a range of services are on offer, including occupational therapy, hot stone massage, a hairdresser and a spa.

An elegant glass stairwell near the entrance connects the floors. As a decorative element, a wall clad in Troldtekt rhomb acoustic panels extends the height of the stairwell and creates a sense of visual coherence.

Thematic shared lounges

The interior design is intended to create variation and a sense of belonging. In the various units, the furnishings and colours have thus been inspired by different decades. Each unit has a large bathroom, designed in the style of a spa room and with different colours and furnishings.

The shared lounges, which are accessible from the hallways, are also themed. In one lounge, the theme is creativity, while in another it is darts and where a specially designed bar adds to the authenticity as well as being as functional as possible. Troldtekt acoustic panels have been installed in the hallways and in the lounges, thereby ensuring superior acoustics and visual coherence between the rooms, despite the many exciting and different themes.

Maren Buchwaldt from SpaceInnovators InteriorDesign says:

“The interior design is based on wish to create a sense of home for the residents, while also optimising the working conditions for the care home staff. The flats have been made as spacious as possible, based on the most effective use of the available floor area, while freeing up plenty of space for the communal areas. The large bay windows  make the flats feel bigger than they actually are.

In our experience, the residents spend much of their time indoors. We have therefore fitted out a number of rooms with elements usually found in the local area, including a Sailing club, Cinema, Jazz club and the Café in the interconnecting building.The idea is that the residents explore the rooms and hopefully discover activities they like. Moreover, the rooms serve as an incentive for more physical activity. 

In our efforts to create a sense of homeliness, we visually shortened the hallways, for example by using Troldtekt in large panel formats. Using panels which span the width of the hallway, many joints are avoided to produce a visual shortening effect. The lighting takes the shape of long, sleek fixtures arranged in a ‘random’ pattern to avoid an office-like look. In addition, we have disrupted the ceilings in the lounges with a lowered, illuminated canopy to highlight that this is where exciting things happen. The result is a subtle wayfinding solution with cues that can be processed at a subconscious level without being intrusive.”