Care Work Beyond Retirement

Questioning retirement – How, for whom, from what

In the film „Tucked“, 80 years old Jack is working as a Drag Queen in a club, despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Questions came up: Is retirement a choice? For Whom? What are you actually retiring from and how? Work is not just about having a daily routine; it's also about being part of a social environment where various forms of care are given and received. Retirement, therefore, can dismantle essential care networks.

This project based in Zürich asks how care work can be otherwise imagined, and links cooperative housing with a care institution. It is a self-organized retirement home, where mutual care forms interdependencies between the residents. A spatial distinguishment between the new housing and the care institution is made, but they remain linked through a common terrace. The care institution in the existing parking building works as urban care infrastructure, with the possibility to host non-resident working bodies from the neighborhood. An atrium is carved out in the existing parking structure, and one floor moved onto the other side for maximal incidence of natural light. Café, canteen, baths and and grocery store are public, while most of the laundry, collective kitchens and office spaces are reserved for the residents.

Care workers and inhabitants use the same space, creating a choreography in which everyone is doing care work, paid or not.