Edward’s Court Extra Care

The UK’s first Passivhaus extra care home, Exeter City Council’s innovative new Edward’s Court extra care scheme provides 53 one and two bedroom mixed tenure apartments. Designed to encourage community and companionship among its residents and neighbours, a variety of communal areas are interspersed throughout the building, on the rooftop, and in the garden walkways and terraces.

Location

Exeter, UK

Area

4,457 m2

Status

Completed

Year

2021

Client

Exeter City Council

With in-depth research into dementia support and new design thinking, Architype has created a healthy, homely and sociable environment where residents can safely maintain an independent lifestyle with various levels of support and care. Designed specifically to address the mental and physical needs of an older demographic, these welcoming ‘homes for life’ encourage movement and social inclusion, helping relieve demands on the NHS.

To meet Exeter City Council’s demanding sustainability and health and wellbeing standards, the low-energy Passivhaus design also helps address fuel poverty by radically cutting heating bills and is climate-proofed to 2080.

We selected Architype for their proven track record of delivering low energy and sustainable buildings and, more importantly, their ability to understand fully client needs and exceed expectations.

Despite being given a very challenging timeframe - fewer than four months from appointment - Architype delivered an exemplar planning application design within the development budget. Their design exceeded our accommodation requirement, increasing the number of units from 50 to 53, which immediately increased the value of the development at no capital premium.

Emma Osmundsen, managing director, Exeter City Living

How we are building on 40 years of innovation to address the challenges of the future

Architype

What have we learned in 40 plus years of practice?

Architype Beyond 40

Vision

All vision

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Design

The development was guided by seven key principles:
1. Performance and comfort
2. Operational efficiency
3. Creating internal communities/integration
4. Connecting with the external community
5. Integrating the surrounding built environment
6. De-institutionalisation
7. Desirability

The design breaks up the mass of the building, supported through interesting choices of colour and texture, including an intricate brick façade which uses a range of pattern techniques to disperse the exterior mass and offer definition. Inside, the building mass is broken up by well-lit day areas that connect visually with the flats, so residents can see who is out and about without having to leave their apartments.

Communal spaces such as lounges, dining rooms, a music room and hobby rooms are interspersed throughout the building. Every apartment is no more than two units away from a communal area. Open to the local community, residents can interact easily and autonomously with non-residents on the top-floor beauty salon, day spa with assisted bath space, restaurant and rooftop bar area.

The interactive garden is landscaped for accessibility and sociability with routed walkways, clustered seating areas, a potting shed for keen gardeners and raised borders allowing easy access for wheelchair users. The welcoming building sits over five and four storeys, stepping down to sit sympathetically among neighbouring structures. Each unit has its own balcony, while south-facing terraces overlook the gardens and the River Exe and valley beyond.

This is important in lifting people out of fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions as we work towards our ambitious target of becoming a net-zero carbon city by 2030.

Council Leader Phil Bialyk, Exeter City Council

Expertise

Placemaking and precedents

Architype held in-depth consultations and regular reviews with key stakeholders to maintain rigorous ISO design quality standards throughout the process.

Climate-proof design

Following Exeter Council’s Design for Future Climate Change, Architype used Exeter University’s PROMETHEUS weather data to climate-proof the building to 2080, so it can adapt to changing climates such as rising temperatures and storms.

Building Biology

The building aligns with the Building Biology Association’s 25 Guiding Principles of Building Biology for a healthy, beautiful and sustainable building in an ecologically sound and socially connected community.