Thematic round table by De Architect: Caring architecture/city

What defines ‘caring’ architecture? And what can the ‘caring city’ mean for society? In the coming months, the editorial team of magazine De Architect will delve into this subject through a series of project discussions, interviews and essays, as well as a thematic round table; Dorte Kristensen was one of the participants in this inspiring discussion, which took place on 7 March.

In Dorte's view, the caring nature of architecture and the city depends on the quality of the ‘small’ spaces that mark the boundaries, the transition between public and private: the terrace bordering the façade of your care home, secluded enough to be one’s own but simultaneously in the thick of neighbourhood life; the picture window with the broad windowsill at the nursery, through which, as a small child, you are shielded but still part of the ‘world at large’. Caring architecture is architecture that creates a connection between people.

With the thematic table, led by editor-in-chief Merel Pit, the magazine wants to create an opportunity for like-minded designers and researchers to get to know each other; at the same time, it gives the editorial team an overview of the topics that are relevant to the theme. The discussion revolved around a number of propositions - i.e. ‘does a good building answer the needs of a specific target group or does a good building serve everyone?’; ‘is the user overlooked during the design process of care buildings?’; ‘does creating a healthy city revolve around people's physical and mental health?’ The results are soon to be published in De Architect.