A master programme thesis from Aalborg University
The Palliative Retirement Home and Day Offer: A strategic proposal for the future of hospice care in Denmark
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-30
Pages
312 pages
Abstract
This master’s thesis rethinks architectural and organizational framework for palliative care in Denmark. In response to a growing gap between the limited scope of current hospice services – which primarily serve cancer patients – and the insufficient care provided to patients with life-limiting, long-term, chronic and terminal illnesses, the project seeks to explore how an architectural intervention can broaden the patient group. Through demographic analysis, case studies, and interdisciplinary inquiry, the project identifies part of the answer as an extension of the philosophy beyond that of the hospice typology. Here, residents of nursing homes were identified as a broad group suffering from a variety of illnesses, that die without specialized end-of-life care, and with little to no contact to specialized palliative efforts in the last period of life. By embedding palliative care services onto this setting, care has the potential to become more accessible and continuous, within familiar settings – ultimately reducing the need for stressful transitions between facilities. The palliative retirement home and day offer proposes a hybrid typology, which merges nursing homes, hospices and a palliative day offer. The aim of such a building is to offer relief, rehabilitation and social opportunities to residents, outpatients and their families. The architectural strategy is tested on a site in Hinnerup, a small town near Aarhus, where natural surroundings and a strong sense of community create the base for the building proposal.
Keywords
Documents
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