DEAR TSO respite center
a healing center for home caregivers
DEAR TSO is a respite center for home caregivers designed by Yi-Wen Wang. This is the project I have been working on for the past year during the time in master degree period in Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London; as well as, the extension of the previous home caring domestic design I have done in 2020.
“Tso is my mother’s last name. She became a home caregiver since my dad suffered from heart disease. Her experience of caring and nursing along with the changing of mental and physical health inspired me to conduct this project.“
In Taiwan, 66.2% of disabled elders were taken care of by family members at home, referring to a significant number of home caregivers. Providing care to someone often means committing most of your physical and emotional energy to them. As a result, home caregivers may end up neglecting their needs and exhausting themselves to the point of stress and burnout.
DEAR TSO respite center is the service attached to respite care, providing a healing place to relax when home caregivers apply for respite care. Whenever they have time to take a break, DEAR TSO is always here to welcome them.
Labyrinths were seen as a meditative walking journey in ancient times. The structure of DEAR TSO was inspired by the detour form of a 5-circuit labyrinth.
To lift the labyrinth route is to yield space for the respite center and gain a better river view on a higher placement. The rooftop is covered with a lawn to immerse into the site and serves as a healing garden. The organic shape is trying to echo the natural organism and the vivid ecosystem in the Southside Eco-park, Shimen reservoir, Taiwan.
The labyrinth pool is an ellipse-shaped pool for hydro-fitness. It could hold a group class for exercise or rehabilitation. The tile underneath is customized with a labyrinth pattern for visitors to follow and walk as an exercise. The bottom is a slope, so a home caregiver can easily step in.
The spa pool in the middle serves as a hot spa with bubble massage, offering relaxing moments. The visitors can go to the labyrinth pool for water labyrinth walking as a hydro-fitness exercise, then move to the spa pool bathing at 40-degree c, and finally cool down to the lagoon outside. They form a water therapy circuit with a sauna service beside them.
Outside the panoramic glass door is the engawa veranda, inspired by Japanese traditional house construction, where people can sit and relax. It is viewed as a place that brings the outside inside and blurs the boundary between nature and architecture, allowing people to paddle the pool outside. It completes this therapeutic journey.
Five saunas are encompassed in the meditation garden. A cylindrical sauna cabin is composed of pine wood forming a forest scent. In order to minimize the brightness, only one wall lamp with warm light is used. The curved windows on the sauna cabins frame the view of the meditation garden. Each room is installed with a Finnish stove, letting home caregivers enjoy "Loyly," adjusting the bearable temperature. With little stimulation from the outside, it is easy to concentrate and reflect on their experiences.
We all know that that view of nature is beneficial for mental and physical healing. I wanted every part of the project to see nature, even the isolated sauna cabin. Hence, they all surround the meditation garden, where a vast Taiwan maple tree stands inside the garden space. From inside the sauna space, the users can still peek at the frame of the garden view.
Most of the spaces on the southside of the center are scattered with variations of seating (or lying) areas. When people finish bathing, a platform covered with tatami is a resting meeting point. They provide cozy places for sitting, reading, and lying after home caregivers use the pool area.
Parts of the resting platform are applied with soft and sunken fabric, offering an even more nestled feeling. The Private respite corners are divided by wavy wooden partitions. They are set with a lounge chair or a soft seat area in the upper right corner, slightly quieter places for those not willing to socialize.
The self-served kitchen area is the core of the central hub. A kitchen counter where visitors can make themselves tea and coffee and heat some food from the fridge can help home caregivers build self-assurance and self-control.
The bookcases linked to the kitchen provide visitors with a way to find books and information. Between the bookcases and kitchen counter is the double-sided notice board for displaying the latest activities held in the Dear Tso on the front. The home care information in the back is a relatively less obvious spot because it is unnecessary to remind them of their roles here.
The long curved table, made out of metal penal, serves as the meeting and socializing point for home caregivers if they need someone to talk to. If professional help is needed, two consulting rooms are behind the office area.