Right at the Heart and Connected

Timeless and Distinctive New Building for Assisted Living and Care

At the heart of the garden city of Arlinger, a new structure adds an important social institution to a community that has existed for nearly a century. Located directly adjacent to the Matthäus Church designed by Egon Eiermann in the 1950s, Peter W. Schmidt Architekten have created a new building for assisted living and care. The architects organized the building volume to make a distinctive statement within its urban context while at the same time responding to the scale and grain of the surrounding development.

Two outward-curving building wings with elegant narrow ends echo the movement of the street and surrounding structures. Where they come closest together, a central intermediate space is formed. Along the facades, this space expands toward the north and south. A central atrium connects all three stories and enables intuitive wayfinding upon entering the building. The atrium exemplifies how natural light serves as an indirect navigation tool. The generous open staircase likewise sits within this daylit joint of the building structure. The intermediate space accommodates all service functions—a solution with clear advantages: short circulation paths and efficient staff access are guaranteed, while the proportion of circulation area is optimized. The slender residential wings house exclusively occupant rooms with private bathrooms. All rooms are oriented either east or west, ensuring residents benefit from natural daylight. The "living rooms" assigned to each care unit open outward to the surroundings. Visual connections and views link residents, in an almost metaphorical sense, to the vibrant garden city.

The straightforward and memorable floor plan typology ensures excellent orientation. In implementing the design, particular care was taken to employ only a few materials—those capable of aging gracefully while possessing strong tactile qualities. Interior surfaces feature untreated wood, extending to large-format timber window constructions. The double-leaf masonry with brick facing lends the substantial building a refined articulation that, combined with carefully developed details, imparts the structure a timeless and distinctive character.

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