Burnholme Care Home

This one- to three-storey building was designed to enable modular construction to provide a cost efficient and faster build option for the client, in line with the urgent need for more care homes to house our growing elderly population and is one of a number of Elderly Living schemes being developed that explore better ways for the frail elderly, including those living with dementia, to live safely and enjoyably.

The building at Burnholme Care Home surrounds a secure and sheltered garden, and all 80 bedrooms are en-suite. The design includes a wide variety of spaces for residents to enjoy, either privately or as a social activity. Amenities include a central outdoor courtyard, café, bar, shop, arts & crafts workshop, library, cinema, beautician, hair salon and gym, all located in the ground floor ‘Hub’. The new care home sits within a wider masterplan for the Burnholme College site that includes a community space, health centre and sports facilities for the local community, as well as a new housing development.

Bedrooms are arranged in small clusters of between nine and 11 rooms, each with their own self-contained facilities, which include a communal lounge, dining area with kitchenette and quiet room. All of the communal lounges and dining areas have large windows and doors leading out either to the central garden or large communal terraces on the upper floors. All upper floor bedrooms have bay windows and on the ground floor, glazed doors give direct access to the central garden. The flat roof areas on the lower one-storey part of the building are sedum roofs, adding extra greenery to the scheme, and contributing to the sustainability strategy of the project.

The fundamental principles behind the design are to create calm and clear spaces for the residents, including for those living with dementia. Circulation routes have been designed to avoid dead ends, doors will be clearly visible, coloured to stand out from surrounding walls, as will furniture, to assist way-finding.