The mission statement defines Nursing Home Retz as a centre of communication for the young and old. Its green space was made accessible to all and has been designed and arranged by all. Raised beds, an herb spiral, flowers, fruit trees, vegetables, animals, play equipment for all generations, a touch wall, benches for resting and loop paths for strolling, a stone garden, a wayside shrine - the garden that came into being attracts everyone: residents, their relatives, nursing home employees, volunteers, families, children, grown-ups. They talk and they celebrate together, play and potter about, help each other, rest, move around in fresh air, come together and sleep better. And they keep on developing it …
Generationengarten
Project owner: Landespflegeheim Retz
Responsible person: Winkler Horst
2016
2,000 Euro Prize
AT
Public administration
Social welfare, health care
What is it about?
Appreciation of the Jury
Elsewhere, nursing homes are not attractive places. In Retz, a well thought out process implicating all relevant actors has managed to make the nursing home the local meeting point for the most diverse social groups; a garden without a fence or any barriers to encounters for those who live there or elsewhere. That is healthy for the individual and also for the entire social fabric, it improves the overall quality of life in the town, it creates interest in each other and thus reduces isolation – not only for the elderly living there. A nursing home has been turned into a communal meeting place for all. Simply innovative – simply wonderful.
