Stratton-on-the-Fosse is an established village in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, with ready access to the countryside, providing good opportunity for relatives to take residents on accompanied walks. The village lies on the Fosse Way, an ancient Roman Road which linked Lincoln and Exeter.
This project redeveloped a brownfield site to provide a 50 place care home with en-suite facilities and associated communal areas, to meet demand in the area for the provision of elderly care and accommodation for residents with varying degrees of dementia.
The development provides the opportunity for residents to receive the highest level of care.
People with dementia have particular needs. While these are specific to the individual, there are common symptoms including:
The design of the building aims to create a familiar environment to reduce the effects of these symptoms and provide a safe, domestic style place which residents can call “home”.
The layout of the building provides an appropriate garden setting while preserving an existing tree which is the subject of a Tree Preservation Order.
Orientation of the building takes account of the sun path, with all rooms orientated where possible to receive direct sunlight at some point during the day.
The gardens, main entrance, car parking and pedestrian routes are overlooked by staff rooms, quiet rooms and lounges in order to provide good passive observation in the interests of residents’ safety.
The low energy strategy included two photovoltaic arrays for on-site energy generation.
External materials are domestic in style, using Rosemary clay roof tiles and natural Cotswold stone for visual warmth and texture and human scale.
Roof terraces are inset into the roof plane and have glass balustrades to give open views to the adjacent open fields and hills.
