Lifelong Housing Design (original) (raw)
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PAD. Papers on Arts and Design, 2023
Ageing in place, in a domestic environment rather than in an institution, is people’s preference in an ageing planet. This raises post-domestic design challenges as the home becomes now also a place for care, and most dwellings are not prepared to respond to the growing needs of fragile older people. In this paper we will explore the importance of architectural layouts, strategies, and the incorporation of IT technology for smart homes, as possible answers to these new requirements. The importance of façade depth as a new design strategy for lookout spaces will be discussed in terms of the specific requirements of older residents who are homebound for health reasons or safety rules (as pandemic requirements), thus becoming places for a healthy connection with the outside world. Homebound interior design also requires a new approach: COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the new preference of working from home, no matter the age. New residential spaces are no longer exclusively domestic, and they require IT tech support for different activities. Flexibility of spaces is now a basic requirement: quickly changing or adapting domestic spaces with minor investments under a life-cycle design logic, keeping them safe for all, from grandchildren to grandparents, must become a ground rule for the future. In this paper we will review recent findings on how the post-domestic space must be designed to host a comfortable and active ageing for senior citizens who choose to age in place.
An innovative built environment form for dwellings for the elderly
Due to population ageing, countries’ financial capacities to maintain the current level and scope of services and institutional care for the elderly are decreasing, which is why there are increasing demands to rationalize services and residential care for the elderly as much as possible. The demands are feasible, considering that the main idea is to enable the elderly to remain in their homes as long as possible, and to move the services aimed at the elderly to their home environments. This idea can be carried out by appropriately adapting the built environment. The basis for this is offered by modern technologies, which can convert an elderly person’s home into an innovative living environment. This article presents such of an environment offering support to the elderly, and discusses its importance and operation, the efforts and achievements made to date in developing this innovation, and the premises for implementing it in society based on elderly people’s opinions about living in such advanced living environments. The findings show that the main goal of implementation must be assigning meaning to and understanding the concept of innovative built environments among users; in addition, they show that rapid changes in implementing innovative built environments into society are not to be expected. A major step in this regard would already be achieved if the living environments of the elderly were intentionally remodelled following the design-for-all principle, if architectural barriers were removed in them, and if new homes were built without these barriers. This alone would make it possible for the elderly to remain in their homes longer while also providing a basis for converting these living environments into smart homes by using modern assistive technologies in the future.
Inclusive Design: An Approach to Adapt Homes for the Elderly
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, 2021
The aging trend of the world population has increased the number of elderly people. Older people prefer to spend most of their time at home. The problem is that today's homes are often unsuitable for the elderly and the disabled. Thus, problems of the current design approaches, which are based on percentiles as well as the tendency to involve the elderly and disabled people in society, have put the concept of inclusive design into consideration. Application of new design approaches, such as inclusive design allows designers to design products and services to meet the needs of a larger group of users regardless of their age and ability. Given the rapid aging of the world population, more research is needed to design specific products and environments for elderly people. Keywords: Home design, Aging, Ergonomics, Adaptation