TAHAN-AN

Project idea

As time goes by, the number of elderly is growing because the life range of a person in the country is getting longer. As a result, a place for the elderly is coming short due to the ballooning number of senior citizens, and the phasing for a home for the aged cannot match. In the Philippines, there are reportedly 7 million senior citizens, and many of the elderly in this population do not receive enough care. These percentages were projected to increase by a factor of two from 8 to 16 in 2020 (Villar 2022). According to Villar 2022, While more and more people are now turning to nurse homes to look after their elderly relatives, the close family ties tradition of Filipinos has prevented some from doing so. The nation's emphasis on family continues to be a substantial barrier. “In the Philippines, there are only a few elderly institutions, and there are only a few slots from NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and private institutions, around 30 to 40 slots. Unlike in government [elderly institutions], like GRACES or Golden Acres, which can cater to over 100 people,” said Daisy Caber, a social worker from GRACES. However, not every elderly individual who loses their home can locate refuge in organizations like GRACES. There are only a few nursing homes for the elderly throughout the nation, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development only oversees four of them (DSWD However, certain facilities are now overcrowded as a result of the rising number of elderly
people who have been abandoned (Villar, 2022). The idea of the proposal is to cater to the elderly who are being abandoned or neglected through the help of architecture.

Project description

The design idea is to create a structure that would be flexible enough to support previously unheard-of technology. A future-proof building that will last for centuries while using a greener approach and using natural resources to have less of an impact on the environment was also inspired by the resilience of the elderly Filipinos: Instead of forcing these innovations into a box, we created a decade or more ago, the designers should be thinking about "future enabling" facilities, making them malleable and adaptive in a way that permits those discoveries to evolve naturally.

The designers created the facility using a comprehensive approach through an open-type design that allows seniors to engage with people of similar ages. They also designed the surroundings and amenities to foster a happy sense of community, belongingness, not being alone, and leading a healthy lifestyle. In addition, the design will be in a cluster type so that the facility can be divided into sections based on their functions and give senior citizens appropriate spaces according to their health status and gender to ensure their safety and well-being.

Moreover, it conserves the idea of home and highlights the residential design instead of adhering to the institutional atmosphere. Calamba, Laguna, is rich in culture, and one of the well-known cultures in Calamba is the Rizal Shrine, which was made into a Bahay na Bato. This will inspire the imagined retirement and recreation resort community facility design, integrating new technologies and approaches to achieve a timeless design that embodies the past and the future. Also, Calamba is popular for having spring, and the designers will mimic the spring and incorporate it into the site for the leisure activity of the elderly. Lastly,
Calamba is well known for its Banga; this will be the gazebo design highlighting the Banga of Calamba.

Technical information

The design approach will surely stand for decades as the durability of the materials used in the structures and the advanced way of construction are foreseen. The designers eradicate the application of wood and other materials that are not durable enough to withstand climatic changes and natural phenomena over time. Instead, the designers used WPC cladding and other wood-like materials that were stronger than wood. Additionally, the protrusive materials the designers used that will make the design stand for decades are concrete with the reinforcement of rebars and metals as the core foundation instead of using materials that are breakable or deteriorate quickly, such as wood foundations and framing.