On a press tour of Appleby Blue, a new social housing scheme (or almshouse) for older people in South London, U.K., many of us journalists ask when we can move in. And we’re only half-joking. There’s a roof terrace replete with seating nooks; generous use of warm timber and brick; a sun-filled central courtyard with gingko trees and a serene water feature; and a glazed, terracotta-tiled walkway on each floor that features seating, plants and windows that open to let in sun and fresh air. In fact, apart from the walk-in showers, wheelchair access and alarm service — all designed to ensure it can safely cater to residents’ changing physical and cognitive needs — Appleby Blue is not only the opposite of an institutional building but also a genuinely intimate and elegant one. “You have to set out with [good design] as a key ambition,” explains Stephen Witherford, a co-founder and director at Witherford Watson Mann, the architecture practice behind the design, “and find that balance between keeping everybody safe and fighting for joy in people’s lives.”
Though Appleby Blue (a joint venture among local charity United St Saviour’s, Southwark Council and developer JTRE) doesn’t cater specifically to dementia, it does have some residents experiencing early-onset cognitive decline. It’s part of a growing movement to deinstitutionalize elderly and dementia care away from the exclusive domain of medicalized senior homes: Around the world, new models for housing and comforting the
