Photography:Photo studio SHIN

Based on the "Aiai-town" development concept (integrated development of medical welfare facilities and municipal housing) of Takashima-shi (formerly Imazu-cho), Shiga prefecture, a special nursing home for the elderly, a hospital and a regional social interaction center had already been built on the development site, and with the deterioration of another existing facility, this building was constructed on a small site as the final facility of the development plan. The "Nursing Home for the Disabled - Seikoen", which had been operating as a therapeutic facility for the disabled since 1982, was relocated to this new building, which combines the function of a therapeutic facility for the disabled (capacity 60) with a short stay facility (capacity 2), an ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) facility (capacity 2), ambulatory nursing care type A (capacity 10), and a regional social interaction space. Although this is a therapeutic facility for the disabled, a five-unit system was adopted (integrated dining hall due to nursing care requirements) with the aim of establishing a unit care configuration that would provide a more "at-home" style of care, with single occupancy up to triple occupancy living quarters (64% single occupancy). All rooms in the 3rd floor low-level nursing care unit are single occupancy. Each unit retains the familiar names from the previous facility, with different finishes and lighting applied to add character.