Upon completion, the Boyuan Elderly Care Center not only offers daytime elderly care services and residential living for community members but also addresses the growing urban demand for senior care. It establishes a high-quality, warm, and comfortable modern health and elderly care center for the city.
△ Location analysis © UUA
△ Project Area Model © UUA
01 Background
Supporting elderly care and early childhood education within large communities has become the prevailing model for community support. The Boyuan Elderly Care Center was designed, constructed, and operated in response to this trend. It provides daytime elderly care and residential services to community members while fulfilling the urban demand for senior care, creating a modern, high-quality, warm, and comfortable health and elderly care facility for the city.
New model of community supporting facilities: Boyuan Elderly Care Center © UUA
02 Building Volume Generation
A great architectural project requires a thoughtful and logical approach. We adapt to local conditions by applying simple and clear design principles, seeking innovation while grounded in solid fundamentals.
△ Building block generation process © UUA
Highly Aging-Friendly Indoor Layout
A. Clear and Accessible Building Flow
Early in the project, Professor Zhou Yanmin’s team led the functional organization and interior layout planning, emphasizing accessibility and clarity. Unlike traditional designs that feature dead-end corridors, this project utilizes a central corridor that promotes continuous, forward movement. Residential units are horizontally arranged around internal courtyards, with large windows to ensure abundant natural light and fresh air.
B. Flat Layout for Easy Operation and Care
The building’s duty desks are strategically positioned to maximize visibility and minimize unnecessary workload. The spatial design fosters a warm, homelike care environment, allowing seniors not only to receive professional support but also to express their emotions freely, enjoying a comfortable experience akin to “living at home without leaving home.”
Maximizing visibility at the duty room © UUA
C. Aging-Friendly Facility Design
The building’s interior height and design prioritize aging accessibility. Beyond conventional elderly-friendly features, the entire facility incorporates extensive treatments in accessibility, color schemes, materials, lighting, and signage. These elements, combined with landscape design and public aging-friendly spaces, ensure all aspects of the building meet the needs of its senior residents.
△ Meeting aging needs across multiple dimensions © UUA
03 Simple and Warm Material Application / Facade Composition
The Boyuan Elderly Care Center features a warm exterior paint palette. Floor lines, balconies, and individual elderly units serve as key design elements, creating a harmonious and structured building mass and facade.
△ Warm and harmonious facade composition © UUA
At the two exits of the elderly care center, the entrances to the health and wellness center are thoughtfully designed to combine practicality with a warm and ceremonial ambiance.
△ Warm and ceremonial entrance door © UUA
The south facade’s recessed design creates dynamic light and shadow effects throughout the day. Simple materials and subtle textures allow sunlight to actively shape the building’s appearance.
△ Facades enriched by sunlight and shadow © UUA
△ Facades enriched by sunlight and shadow © UUA
A warm and inviting facade bathed in sunlight © UUA
A cozy and warm facade under sunlight © UUA
Warm architectural lighting under the night sky © UUA
Warm architectural lighting under the night sky © UUA
04 Outdoor Space Close to Nature
Recognizing the limited mobility of elderly residents, the design maximizes outdoor spaces to enable easy and intimate contact with nature just steps from their living areas.
△ Outdoor space analysis © UUA
A. Enclosed Courtyard
The building’s L-shaped configuration encloses a square courtyard on its north side, seamlessly integrated with the structure. This design ensures the safety of elderly residents within the courtyard through the creation of green corridors and pathways. The entire landscape is equipped with barrier-free facilities, providing accessible travel and recreational opportunities.
Green corridors within the courtyard © UUA
Courtyard landscaped and enclosed by L-shaped building © UUA
B. Unique Views on Each Floor
The building’s exterior walls feature irregular setbacks, accommodating diverse functions while enhancing indoor-outdoor visual connections. This approach embodies the design philosophy of maximizing the value of limited space.
To ensure sufficient sunlight for the northern buildings and support future community activation plans, the facade employs a layered retreat design.
△ Layered retreat design © UUA
Additionally, each floor includes a green courtyard, offering residents vibrant outdoor experiences at every level.
Green courtyards on every floor © UUA
Finally, the design reduces the pressure from two mountain walls facing the first floor, complying with plot ratio requirements and enhancing building friendliness.
Welcoming first-floor entrance © UUA
C. Roof Garden
The green roof, accessible via dedicated elevators, provides a garden space for elderly residents. Combined with lush greenery and landscaping, it expands outdoor experiences and fosters social interaction among residents.
△ Roof Garden – diverse outdoor experiences © UUA
D. Indoor Half-Step Balcony
Ankang city’s pleasant climate allows each elderly unit to feature a private outdoor balcony with views of the city and surrounding scenery. The interplay of balcony shadows and vertical wooden facade elements creates a minimalist aesthetic while providing shelter and comfort.
△ South- and west-facing nursing units © UUA
△ Wooden outdoor balcony © UUA
05 High-Quality Architectural Execution
Through careful control of wall and facade systems, thoughtful material selection, and seamless coordination during construction, the project has achieved a highly refined realization that faithfully captures the original architectural intent.
Entrance rendering compared with actual site © UUA
Facade rendering compared with actual site © UUA
Comparison of road viewpoint rendering and actual scene © UUA
06 Cost Control
The building employs a small column grid system, effectively controlling structural costs.
△ Structural system and construction method analysis © UUA
Additionally, the exterior walls are coated with real stone paint, and modular interior design reduces unnecessary expenses. The use of standardized components and centralized procurement further cuts costs by minimizing reliance on non-standard parts.
Exterior wall coated with real stone paint © UUA
07 Modeling and Standardization Design Control
Designing for aging requires a strong sense of responsibility. Our approach embraces calm building scales, economically sound structures, and strategic planning to create a retirement facility that is both friendly and aging-adapted. The Boyuan Elderly Care Center offers standardized, well-designed apartments fully equipped with amenities, while its public spaces, convenient facilities, and surrounding environment significantly enhance the private living experience.
△ First floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Second floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Third floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Fourth floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Fifth floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Sixth floor plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
△ Roof plan © UUA & Zhou Yanmin Studio
08 Summary
Aging is an inevitable stage in life. How to enjoy a healthy, peaceful, and worry-free old age is a significant challenge for today’s elderly population and for society at large. With the rapidly growing senior demographic, creating living environments tailored to their needs is essential for current elderly care and vital for the sustainable development of China’s elderly care industry.
Building an elderly-friendly environment requires a “people-centered” approach, accurately addressing seniors’ physiological and psychological needs. We hope future cities will not only be places where young people pursue their dreams but also communities where the elderly can live comfortably and with dignity.
A care center infused with genuine compassion can inspire a ripple effect, encouraging more elderly-friendly spaces filled with kindness throughout the city, ultimately making the entire urban environment a place of warmth and beauty.
Project Information
- Project Name: Design of Boyuan Elderly Care Center
- Location: Ankang, Shaanxi, China
- Design Period: February 2019 – November 2020
- Project Scale: 10,000 sqm
- Architectural Design: UUA Architects
- Lead Partners: Li Yongzheng, Li Qizhi
- Design Team: Deng Liang, Jiang Teng, He Wenbo, Ma Xinghua, Fang Hongbo, Lv Yanfeng, Zhang Yihao, Zhao Bing, Wang Falu, Chi Bingyu
- Retirement Advisor: Zhou Yanmin Studio, Tsinghua University
- Elderly Care Consultant Team: Zhou Yanmin, Chen Xing, Qiu Ting
- Interior Design: Beijing Jianghe Creation Architectural Decoration Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
- Interior Design Manager: Ding Chunya
- Landscape Design: Water and Stone Design, Landscape Business Division Four
- Construction Drawing Design: Shenzhen Huayi International Elderly Care Design Co., Ltd
- Construction Drawing Team: Li Jian, Yang Ge, Chen Yang, Gao Yi, Xiong Zhifeng, Shi Yougang, Xu Mingjian
- Architectural Photography: A Literal Translation of Architecture and Its Refining Techniques
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