The Nikolaus-Cusanus Haus, a nursing and retirement home for 135 residents responds to the desire to live close to nature in a central urban location. For people who like to have greenery around them the Nikolaus-Cusanus Haus in Stuttgart offers an internal space with a lot of plants, thus bringing nature even to those who are confined and can only control how they spend their own time to a limited extent: the occupants of old people's homes and nursing-homes.
Expertise
Landscape Design, Stormwater Management, Open Space Design, Rainwater Management
Location
Törlesäckerstraße 9, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Collaborators
Architects: Bockemühl, Weller und Partner
Client
Baugemeinschaft Birkach GBR
Timeline
Design: 1987 - 1990
Construction: 1990 - 1991
Site Area
800 m2 / 753,5 sq ft
Status
Completed
Water is the crucial element that creates the atmosphere of this space
Water glides softly through stone channels, makes a pleasing sound in little waterfalls then disappears again among the aquatic plants. The sound brings a sense of magic to the space and life into the old people’s home.
The natural stones have been treated artistically, the gliding wave structures swirl like pennants. Long horizontal scales are worked into steeply sloping lumps of stone, and the water drips down these, leaving some parts dry and allowing various kinds of moss to grow. Natural stone blocks were piled up, and Herbert Dreiseitl had meandering and branching grooves chiseled and cut into them.
It is first noticed on the level of sound: the splashing and plugging creates a comfortable acoustic background. In the space, water makes its biggest effect because of the surfaces it runs down, from which it drips and over which it runs away. All these features are made of stone and discreetly sculpted.
The residents enjoy expansive views of terraces, steps, and paths on four storeys, or can sit in sheltered alcoves away from it all. They feel at home in temperatures between 18 and 25 degrees – and also that they are being cared for in a very special way.
