Scientific results reveal that “Loneliness exerts a powerful influence over our health”

The adverse effects of social isolation and loneliness have been well documented for some time. A study from nearly a decade ago stated “loneliness, that sense of lacking or privation, exerts a powerful influence over our health.”

The effects go beyond just feeling bad. According a report by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, “it is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

The agency stated that “the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day,” noting that was greater than the risks associated with obesity and physical inactivity. This condition is not only a concern in the United States but also in other countries around the world.

As such, combating loneliness has become a major topic in recent years which has prompted action through intervention tactics like a senior living center, the Appleby Blue Almshouse, located in central London. It won the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize and Neave Brown Award for Housing last year.

“A clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment”

The roughly 62,500-square-foot building, managed and operated by United St. Saviour’s Charity, consists of 57 homes for those 65 and older who meet the charity’s requirements. Designed by the architecture firm Witherford Watson Mann, the project blends seamlessly into the surrounding neighborhood populated with Victorian brick homes.

The C-shape five-story exterior structure is connected at each end by a shorter two-story interior section that surround an interior courtyard with a garden. The residents’ homes overlook this peaceful space beyond a glass-window lined hallway with seating for the residents to be able to interact with each other. On the rooftop of the interior section, residents can access a terrace with garden beds where they can do some gardening, as well as seating and tables to relax and mingle.

“It helps stop you from being depressed. It’s absolutely beautiful,” Rohan, a resident at the senior living center, said of the complex. “It’s helped me to heal so much.”

The central part of the exterior building runs along the main street with the two first floors containing communal areas for residents and the wider public. It’s designed to be a multi-generational space in order to provide more opportunities for interaction not only for residents but the community at large.

This portion acts as a community center where people from the neighborhood can attend a variety of classes and lessons. Additionally, there is a communal kitchen, library, and hobby room.

“Built against the backdrop of two crises, an acute housing shortage and a growing loneliness epidemic among older people, Appleby Blue offers a hopeful and imaginative response,” said Ingrid Schroder director of London’s Architectural Association and jury chair. “This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment.”

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