For a comfortable retirement

In the historical half-timbered town of Spalt, approximately 25 kilometres southwest of Nuremberg, Caritas has recently extended the St. Nikolaus retirement and nursing home and comprehensively modernised it to meet the latest standards.

The German Caritas Association took over what used to be the municipal hospital in the small Franconian town known for its hop growing back in 1982 and converted it to a retirement home. In order to meet the ever growing demand for places for the elderly and to allow the residents to spend their retirement years in a comfortable, dignified and pleasant environment with lots of amenities, building work was carried out in several phases from 2014 according to a design by Berschneider + Berschneider Architekten, starting with the construction of a new building and followed by the renovation of the original building and a link between the two.

Residents can live here as independently as possible for as long as possible and benefit from the central location of the home in the immediate vicinity of the Kulturbahnhof cultural station, Trachtenheim heritage centre with evangelical community facilities and the civic centre.

In keeping with the historical town centre

The new build blends harmoniously into the traditional architectural surroundings because it does not have a dominating gabled roof, and the facade, in shades of blackberry, is in keeping with the historical town centre. The white window frames offer a striking contrast and give the structure as a whole a modern, attractive and welcoming look.

The annex has space for a total of 54 residents. The renovated original building now also features six units for assisted living. The rooms, all of which are located off the wide corridors, are all naturally bright and comfortably furnished and afford wonderful views of the rural surroundings thanks to their floor-to-ceiling windows.

A chapel and dining room connect the buildings

The link between the original building and the annex, with its plain white exterior, contains a small chapel for church services, Mass and devotions, a spacious dining room with central serving island and view over the old town as well as a cosy lounge area. Thanks to their large windows, the rooms are bright, bathed in natural light, inviting and relaxing. Grey vinyl floors combined with coloured seats, light wood and suspended ceilings with integrated round lighting systems give the rooms a welcoming and open feel.

Furthermore, the dining room and chapel feature Troldtekt line acoustic ceiling panels which perfectly accord with the successful overall design.