Care and Health Center «Blindenheim», Basel

When new health centres are built, they are usually moved to the outskirts of the city. There, there is enough space for a comfortable spatial and operational redesign. What is missing is the interaction that animated the institution in its old location when it was part of a grown, vibrant neighborhood. The fact that the Basel Home for the Blind Foundation does not want to participate in the exchange of 'space for interaction' is symbolic of the philosophy of an institution that wants to keep the people entrusted to it in active life. 

As a result, the enormous building mass required for the growing business has to be accommodated in cramped urban conditions. There are numerous forces which influence the shape of the future house from outside: On the one hand, there are the residential buildings that are very close to each other, on the other hand, the neighbouring, venerable school building, which demands respectful distance, the moving topography and finally the building law. 

It is precisely in such contexts that it is important for the building structure to act as a self-determined, self-contained actor - and not to perish as a victim of the forces acting upon it. 

The conditions of place and programme should not be perceived as formative constraints, but as if they had been solved 'en passant' in the most natural way. We propose: A three-winged building type, whose two wings facing the street form a latch, while the third wing occupies the center of the courtyard. The wings are shaped by the polygonal plot geometry and the lighting of the interior spaces. Between the wings, secluded, leafy courtyards open up. 

The examination of the task has clearly shown us that being visually impaired does not simply mean living in a dark night. Many visually impaired people do distinguish between bright and dark, and the dramaturgy of the lighting is probably even more important when perception is limited than when visibility is clear. Well-directed light also guides the people in the house well.

That is why all paths in the house lead to daylight - and wherever they reach the light, places of particular importance are located: group rooms, common areas, stairwells. Staircases, for example, not only connect the floors, but also the inside world and the view. They invite you to walk instead of using the elevator. 

The light is only dimmed in the short corridors, and this is definitely in the sense of light dramaturgy.