i assemble: March 2011

Up until this day, when we think of nursing homes we would never bring such an image like the one that follows to mind! Portuguese Aires Mateus Architects bring a new style to the architectural design of a nursing home inAlcácer do Sal, Portugal; the architects designed the project according to an attentive and thoughtful reading of the way of life of a very particular community, the elderly, who live in a kind of micro-society with its own needs, rules and values.

This luxury nursing home with the ultra-modern design acts as a hotel and a hospital for the elderly; Aires Mateus Architects looked for a reinterpretation of the program where a combination of social and/or private would be provided for the residents. The need of a social life for the elderly visitors was responded, and at the same time of solitude. Independent unities aggregate into a unique body, whose design is expressive and clear.