Daily Rehabilitation Center "Olga" in Říčany

Site Analysis
The plot designated for the construction of the day center is sloped and descends toward the south and southwest with a difference of nearly seven meters. The main neighboring building, the residential care home, is a robust three-story structure with a basement that does not utilize the potential of the ground floor for residency functions.

We decided to position the new day center in the western part of the plot due to more suitable spatial conditions, to allow for a conditioned operational link to the DPS-D, a more convenient situation in terms of barrier-free access to the public road, and last but not least, with regard to orientation to the cardinal points and preserving the southern sunny garden for barrier-free access for clients.

Basic Concept
The building is designed and arranged to meet the specific needs of seniors, to take advantage of the strengths of the location, and to fulfill the programmatic requirements of the issuer. The main priorities of the design include:
a/ direct connection and maximum integration with the garden
b/ barrier-free concept
c/ maximization of exposure to natural daylight
d/ open floor plan, flexible layout
e/ functional operational arrangement

Architectural Solution
The day center is designed as a single-story pavilion structure with a central atrium and walkway. The individual facades of the proposed building are irregularly angled and oriented to maximize the length of the perimeter area and effectively utilize natural daylight. On the northern side, the facade recedes to create enough space in front with a covered entrance and the required number of parking spaces.

The roof of the building consists of a segmented slanted solid slab, and its slope rises away from the atrium. The height of the roof varies, with segments rising and falling to achieve the required clear height of individual spaces with different functions (higher clear height in the day room, lower in the background and accommodation areas). The breaking of the roof, along with its lowering on the eastern side, additionally allows for a subtle connection to the existing building so that the new structure does not cast shadows on its accommodation part. The elevation of the northwest corner, on the other hand, will visually support the proportion of the newly designed single-story building relative to the taller existing structure. The roof also includes dome-shaped skylights.

The facade fully acknowledges the material used in the horizontal cladding. Wood is a material that belongs to renewable resources, has texture and aroma, and evokes a sense of home, tradition, etc. Windows and doors respect a unified module and are applied in the facade either individually or grouped into a glazed wall.

Conversion to Senior Apartments
The skeleton structure with an open floor plan, the readiness of technical infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), and the barrier-free concept will allow for easy conversion to apartments for special purposes or housing.

Garden
The greenery completes the entire parcel, including the entrance to the newly designed building of the day center, in front of which stands a solitary deciduous tree as a landmark in the street space. The greenery seems to permeate the building, winding through the atrium and flowing across the residential terrace into the southern garden. The southern garden offers full interactive use in the form of intertwining paths that line benches, a gazebo, an outdoor fire pit, an herb garden, a stone labyrinth, petanque, or outdoor fitness equipment in the eastern part.

Structural and Material Solution
The building is designed as a low-energy wooden structure in a heavy wooden skeleton system. The advantage of the proposed system is the variability of the layout due to large spans between individual supporting elements and the speed of construction, which is generally typical for wooden buildings.

Ecology
Natural air circulation through the central atrium, glazed areas on the southern facade, and a system of shading with sufficient roof plane overhangs will be utilized to cool the building during the summer months (via natural ventilation) and heat the interior in the winter months (via solar gains).
The goal is optimal energy management through natural means without significant initial investments in technological equipment.