St. Joseph Senior Residence-Buchen

Amidst the gently breathing history of Buchen, where every stone speaks and every wall remembers the passage of time, stands – not as an intruder, but as a subtle continuation of what once was – a retirement home that is more than just a place of retreat. It is a dialogue, a quiet conversation between old and new, between stone and glass, between memory and hope.

TCA has managed not to overshadow the existing historic fabric, but to listen to it. The old walls – venerable, weathered, yet resilient – have not been restored in a conventional sense, but respectfully accompanied. Around them, modern volumes articulate themselves with clarity, their gently sloped green roofs resting like calm thoughts upon the memory-laden ground.

The courtyard – covered by a light glass canopy – forms the heart of the project. A space of light, of encounter, of silence. It breathes the rhythm of the seasons, capturing the shifting sky above like a blank page waiting to be rewritten each day.

In this architecture, there is no conflict, but coexistence. The historic buildings are not preserved in isolation, but brought into meaningful relationship with the new forms. A spatial choreography emerges: private rooms open onto quiet gardens, communal areas are nestled along connective paths. These routes are not merely functional – they tell stories, they invite, they encourage pause.

Here, not only the individual dwells, but so does their time. Past and present do not simply live side by side in this architectural composition – they live together, like two voices in a soft, warm duet.