Floral Aged House

綠悠銀宅

588 sq.ft I Rhythm Garden 采頤花園, HK I 2020

Planting And Greenery As The Cozy Nest For Aged

植栽綠意溫潤銀族暖窩

A pot of planting is a magician to improve air quality, and it also gives a sense of habitation, especially for the silver-haired people who have been working for most of their lives, it is an indispensable element. The owner of this project is an old couple who has no children. They hope to use their new home as a long term habitation place for their retirement. Sim-Plex incorporates plant placement considerations in the design; it also incorporated the elderly’s insistence on worship; based on optimising the movement of the elderly, the design details of care are revealed everywhere to create a cozy home suitable for the silver-haired people’s retirement life.

一盆種植是改善空氣質量的魔法師，同時亦賦予生活的輕悠感，尤其對於已工作大半輩子的銀髮族，更是不可或缺的元素。本案屋主為即將步入黃昏之年的夫婦，膝下並無子女，期望將新居作為他們退休生活的休憩場所。Sim-Plex在設計中融入植栽擺放的考慮；配合銀髮族對祭祀跪拜的堅持；以優化老人家動線為基底，處處流露關愛呵護的設計細節，打造一所適合銀族退休生活的暖窩。

Scenery Borrowing and Buffer Space To Engrave The Mood Of Planting

During this epidemic, the freshness of air and the solving of boring and depression when staying home are the major design propositions, and the placement of plants can help improve air quality and at the same time create a sense of habitation. When designing the layout, Sim-Plex deliberately ensures that there is enough storage space, while leaving some buffer blank spaces for planting: such as the grey wood veneer hollow space of the full-height shoe cabinet at the entrance; the extra-long TV cabinet in the living room are blank above the white marble countertop, and there are also two pull-out storage stools, which are convenient for watering and planting; there is also a hollow space between the large closet and the window of the master room, which ensures that the owner has flexible space. Planting potted plants echoing the scenery outside the window, to achieve a complete picture by borrowing the scenery, the homeowners planting plants in their leisure time for pleasure, eliminating the sense of depression, while also optimising the air quality.

借景留白刻劃種植景框

在這疫情肆虐的期間，空氣清新度及解決留家苦悶感是設計大命題，而植栽的種植放置則可助改善空氣質量又同時可制造生活感。在設計佈局時，Sim-Plex刻意確保有足夠收納空間的同時，留下部分空白位置擺放植栽：如入口全高鞋櫃的灰木皮中空位；客廳特長電視連收納櫃的爵士白雲石枱面上全留空，以及設有兩張可拉出的收納凳子，方便澆水處理植栽；主人房大衣櫃與窗之間留空同時亦有中空位等等，都是確保屋主有彈性空間可種盆栽植物，並與窗外的景致呼應，達致借景生景，屋主閒時弄植栽為樂省卻苦悶感，同時亦優化空氣質量。

Elegance And Simplicity Shapes The Worship Culture

The older generation in society generally believed in the culture of ancestor worship and insisted on setting up worship place at home. However, most of the young people believing that it would make people feel fearful and affect the beauty of home. Is it possible to use modern simplicity and elegance as the design keynote and reinterpret the worship space in home to inherit the old culture and improve its social acceptance? After discussing in detail with the old couple, to understand the worship procedures and dimension requirements, Sim-Plex uses plain wood veneer as the material for the main worship cabinet, which is divided into three compartments, the gods, ancestors and landlords respectively. It is configured in a separate space, each compartment is equipped with a red spotlight, and a drawer is set in the middle to store the candles, and a grey wood veneer cabinet is also used to store other supplies. Near the window, there is an extra-long half-waist storage cabinet with white marble countertop which can be used as a flexible place for worship supplies. The combination of marble and wood also creates a sense of elegance. The wall of the living room is painted with soft light grey green and the wall of the study room is contrasted with an stress-relieving grey orange paint. The soft color helps to reduce the resistance and fear of the worship place when youngsters come for a visit.

素雅基調鑲嵌祭祀文化

社會上一輩一般篤信祖先拜祭文化，堅持在家設置祭祀位置，年青人則大多心存抗拒，認為易令人有恐懼感，影響家內的美觀性。那是否可能以現代素雅為設計基調，重新演繹家中祭祀空間以傳承舊有文化，提高其社會接受度？經與屋主夫婦詳談後，了解祭祀的程序及呎吋需求，Sim-Plex以淡素的木質飾面作為主祭祀櫃的物料，同時分為三格，按神明、祖先及地主公分上中下獨立空間配置，每格配有紅光射燈 ，同時中間設置抽屜存放香燭，在旁亦搭配灰木皮輔助櫃存放其他供品。近窗位則有特長半腰收納櫃，爵士白雲石枱面可彈性作放祭祀用品的地方，雲石搭配木質亦營造出素雅感。客廳牆身以柔和的淺灰綠油漆作主調，書房牆身則用舒壓的灰橙色作反襯，輕柔的色系有助消減祭祀儀式外觀上的抗拒，當有親朋年青一輩作客時亦不會心生懼意。

Caring Details Embodies The Retirement Life Of Elderly

Silver-haired people will become more inconvenient to move as getting older, and so have to take into account their needs in details: the side of cabinet of the whole house are all equipped with small arc angles to prevent collisions, including the extra-long white marble countertops in the living room near the entrance, there is also a buffer space for stool between the shoe cabinet and the entrance, so that you can sit down when changing shoes; The corridor is only equipped with sliding doors in the bathroom, and other rooms are covered with normal doors, this ensure that the corridor is reserved enough space for future wheelchair use. The bathroom uses sliding doors to allow more space for turning around, and use hanging basin to save the clear wideness; the lower part of the master room was wrapped with wood ecological melamine faced board to prevent the client from being injured.

質樸關愛細節盛載銀髮退休生活

銀髮族在年紀漸長時行動會愈發不方便，在細節上需顧及其需求：全屋的櫃側飄邊全設小弧角防撞，包括客廳的特長白雲石枱面近門側企身位； 入口鞋櫃預留坐位，方便換鞋時可坐下； 走廊只在浴室設置趟門，其他房則用掩門，確保走廊預留足夠寬度給將來輪椅使用，浴室用趟門的話亦可有更多空間轉身出入，同時亦用了掛盤增加淨寬； 以保留 主人房的下半部分全用木紋防花生態皮包嵌，以防屋主撞傷。

The foyer is flooring with Spanish vintage tiles which in contrast with the long wooden tiles in the living room. They both also have the function of anti-slippery and anti-scratching; the storage cabinets in the whole house use bronze handle to facilitate the elderly to use the cabinet doors; the kitchen and study room have a fritted line glass at the upper part not only increases more daylight to the corridor but also allow more attention to the inner space to avoid any accidents.

玄關位用上西班牙懐舊花磚與客廳的木紋長地磚作出對比，亦具備防滑防花的功能；全屋收納櫃用上青銅手抽方便老人家開關櫃門；廚房書房的掩門上方用了條子玻璃，增加走廊採光之餘亦同時可注意房內情況，避免意外;

The silver-haired people have dedicated most of their lives to the society, and after retirement, they need a quiet and relaxing home. In this case, this project "Floral Aged House" tries to integrate the planting arrangement, with a simple and elegant design language to match the inheritance and needs of the traditional worship culture, to create a stable and comfortable warm home for elderly retirement.

銀族為社會奉獻大半輩子，退休後更需要一個靜謐休致的暖窩，本案「 綠悠銀宅」嘗試融入植栽的擺放，以素雅的格調配合傳統祭祀文化的傳承及需求，打造一個安穩舒適的暖窩作退休場所。