When new health centres are built, they are usually relocated to the outskirts of the city. There is enough space there for a convenient spatial and operational redesign. Instead, the interaction that enlivened the institution at its old location, when it was still part of a growing, vibrant neighbourhood, is missing. The fact that Stiftung Blindenheim Basel («Blindenheim» is German for «home for the blind») does not want to «swap space for interaction» symbolises the philosophy of an institution that wants to keep the people entrusted to it active.
As a result, the enormous building mass required by the growing operation has to be accommodated in cramped urban conditions. There are numerous external forces influencing the shape of the future building: On the one hand, the very close residential buildings; on the other, the neighbouring, venerable school building, which demands a respectful distance; furthermore, the varied topography and, finally, the building law.
Particularly in this kind of context, it is important that the building acts as a self-determined, self-contained actor – and not as a victim of the forces acting on it. The conditions of the location and programme should not be perceived as formative constraints, but as if they had been solved «en passant» in the most natural way. A three-winged building type forms a block with its two wings along the street, while the third wing occupies the centre of the courtyard side. The wings are shaped by the polygonal plot geometry and the lighting of the interior spaces. Cosy, leafy courtyards open up between the wings.
Dealing with the task has clearly shown us that visually impaired living does not simply mean living in the dark of night. Many visually impaired people do differentiate between light and dark and the dramaturgy of the lighting is probably even more important with impaired perception than with clear vision. Well-directed light also guides the people in the house well. That is why all routes in the building lead to daylight – and wherever they reach the light, there are places of special significance: group rooms, communal areas, stairwells. The staircases not only connect the floors with each other, but also the interior world and the view. They invite people to walk instead of taking the lift. The light is only dimmed in the short corridors and this is in keeping with the lighting dramaturgy. Of course, the sense of hearing is also crucial here. Absorption is important, but the beauty of the sound comes from diffusion. For this reason, the ceilings are designed as reliefs and because the concrete ceilings only require their static thickness at the edges, they readily accommodate inlays in the centre. The corresponding fields enliven and accentuate the important rooms of the house both acoustically and visually.
