The knowledge I acquired from my dissertation – it investigated how we can design more Beauty into the built environment and why it is necessary to do so - and my drive to create environments that positively impact people’s lives, directly influenced the selection of my final university project. The Care Home of the Future studio operates at a series of scales, from the wider landscape network to the urban masterplan in relation to landscape and context.
The CHoF campus will include a student accommodation building; a Care Home situated at near the middle of the site to benefit from the best views, sunlight, shelter, proximity to greenspace and clear division of public and private outdoor spaces; an extra-care building; a community hub and community
health. For this project, I tried to challenge the established institutional approach to the design of care homes.
The spatial programme is broken up into separate and autonomous blocks (‘House of the Rising sun’, ‘House of Bobby McGee’ etc)., to create a more personal space for the residents; these are placed on an ‘internal streetscape’ to further strengthen the sense of community. This is also in response to the tragic loss of human life in care homes throughout the pandemic due to poor design choices.
The turning point of my life was moving from Italy to Romania over a decade ago. Despite my tender age, I was able to quickly discern the impact that architecture has on people’s wellbeing. I transitioned from a picturesque Baroque built environment to one composed of impersonal Socialist buildings. The architectural oxymoron between these two places and the discrepancy on how people related to their respective surroundings, made me realise the influence that architecture can have on human behaviour. At the time, I came to believe that a beautiful built environment can truly urge an individual to become a better person. Despite now realizing that the dynamics of the human psyche are infinitely more complex, I do believe there is some truth to my juvenile theory (according to the findings of my dissertation). This inner drive, to design spaces that impact people’s long-term wellbeing, pushed me to pursue a career in architecture and has been a constant influence throughout my four years at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where I completed my undergraduate degree.