Karres en Brands, together with Architekten Cie., ANA architecten and Dura Vermeer won the competition for a new senior housing block in Utrecht, Leidsche Rijn. The project Legends is a 55+ housing concept that seeks to answer the rising demand for senior housing whilst creating a vitalizing living environment. Legends consists of 150 homes and is designed to stimulate exercising and gathering.

As the elderly generation is changing so does the need for different types of spaces. This generation needs spaces that cater to both their active physical and mental capabilities whilst being future-proof. A lush courtyard with a walking route and social areas along the edges invites residents to exercise and interact. Views through the garden, the presence of stairs and galleries and the stimulation of the senses, naturally offer their minimum needed movement of the day and invite residents to engage in an informal conversation with the neighbors. At the reading tables and seating areas in the floating interior streets, at the spacious entryways, in the activity spaces in the plinth or in the courtyard garden. The looping garden path expands each time it crosses communal indoor spaces, creating meeting points that support the collective indoor activities and create a seamless indoor/outdoor connection.

View from Berlijnplein

Strong impressions for the senses and comfortable materials are integral to the design. Flowers and berries in red and orange accents, more visible to old eyes, are chosen along the paths, a world of scents and flavors in the herb area, wood for sitting edges, and flora that attracts singing birds and buzzing bees. In this way, Legends not only ensures a healthy urban environment for its residents, but also for the surrounding ecosystem.

Ecological food flows and the indoor garden

Renders: © Absent Matter 2021