znojemská hospice

The goal of the project is establishing and running of the first Complex Centre of Palliative Care in Prague that would offer Prague citizens modern and very much needed services that have been so far missing n the city. The purpose of this project is to provide maximum professional and human care to families taking care of their loved ones at the end of their life. The idea is to establish a friendly house with an atmosphere of a home, not at all reminding of a hospital. A house as open to the world as possible so that the idea of palliative care could be brought to life the best. Death is not a scare; dying person goes through a critical period of life deserving tactful help from the surroundings to be able to live with dignity and surrounded by love through this time. People should perceive a touch of such kindness, cosiness, light, and dignity even through the architecture of the space around. By its volumes, the building maintains a decently pleasant small scale. To support this feeling, we design the building with only two stories divided into several blocks defining clearly distinct, livable outdoor areas. Using primary, subconsciously known materials and plenty of plants will add to positive perceiving of the building, too. The arrangement of the palliative centre is based on the local situation. There are unused nursery buildings here today that cannot be converted due to their technical condition and capacity. The centre, however, uses the frame of the existing buildings in its volume. The building is structured in wings that, by their location on the site and by reciprocal links, establish a homogeneous structure of interconnecting functions: from the crossing of Znojemská and Přímětická where we locate the public services through the entry courtyard to the social welfare and ward blocks facing the privacy of a large garden. Colours and materials, facades: We tried to select colours and materials that would emphasise the straightforward and natural character of the building. We paid at the same time serious attention to colours in both the exterior and interior. Facades: The red colour is very stimulative; it is an active colour, warming, energising, and exciting deep emotions – we chose it for the corner block. White is strong. It is a light purifying the entire energy system. It stabilises, strengthens consciousness and creativity. The multi-purpose hall is a different part. It is unique by its roof and the back façade. We selected pre-patinated steel (or copper) sheet for their surfaces. Windows and doors are timber with iron doorframes. Terrace decking is also timber. We very much care about colours as an element of navigation in the interior. For staircases are centres of circulation, they are outlined by a bright colour of the lift shafts´surface they twist around. Floors of different function units will also differ in colour. The Complex Centre of Palliative Care should, in particular, provide the following services: – specialised personal, call and online hospice clinic offering professional medical, social, nursing, and psychological counselling to persons providing home care – mobile hospice with specialised outpatient palliative care (providing intensive professional home care) – day care centre offering support to families needing temporary assistance – hospice ward for those who cannot, from various reasons, be cared for at home. Maximum comfort is ensured here (12 single-bed rooms); relatives and friends can feel free to stay as long as they wish and an individual routine is available open to the needs of clients as close to the one they practised at home as possible. The complexity of services provided by the Centre will allow patients hospitalised for only the necessary time so that they could stay at home as long as possible. – education centre for professionals in the new field (physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, university and nursing schools students, and coordinators of volunteers) – specialised palliative library focused on palliative medicine and related literature – literary themed coffee shop complementing the library and helping to integrate the hospice to the outside world and establishing an amicable background for visitors and relatives – lecture/clubroom and ergo-therapist workshop – volunteer centre contributing to the development of volunteering and community activities in the capital city The civil association Cesta domů should operate the Centre in the future.