This paper has argued that the absence of inter-generational contact and a deficit of care-taking in communities leads to the societal exclusion of the elderly and increases the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, dementia and depression. Dementia is a pressing problem of our time. The number of people with dementia is constantly rising and will triple by 2050.1 The understaffed healthcare system can no longer provide enough care in nursing facilities. Therefore, this thesis aimed to discover how to prevent the development of cognitive impairments by implementing design strategies on the neighbourhood and housing block scale. The main research question to be addressed in this thesis was what inclusive design strategy can encourage daily inter-generational contact, strengthen communities and prevent cognitive impairments? The research included primary research on the target group’s social needs and future-proof living space design through a one-week observation study, three semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire conducted among 18 participants. Additionally, secondary research was conducted by analysis of two case studies of community-based design projects. This study has identified a correlation between staying socially and physically active and has found that the combination of fostering social contact and encouraging physical activity can delay the illness by several years. It investigated the needs and wants of different generations regarding neighbourhood and housing design. It identified that a need to feel like a part of a community is the most important overlap between all age groups. It also examined how to use the principles of ‘Active design’ and ‘Architecture for encounter’ in a housing block. As a result, the research provides answers on how the architectural design of a housing block can prevent the development of cognitive impairments and thus enable healthy ageing in place. Conclusively the research identified that it is indeed possible to encourage daily inter-generational contact, strengthen communities and prevent cognitive impairments through a design of a housing block which revolves around the community.

The thesis will elaborate Helena and Szymon Syrkus’ connection with the “Congress of Modern Architecture” (CIAM). It will investigate in what ways the Polish couple has brought Modernist ideas to Poland and put a special emphasis on the work of Helena Syrkus. The point of focus will lay on how the Helena Syrkus could manage to keep in touch with the most influential architects of the 20th century and how her social skills and fluent knowledge of multiple languages (English, German, French) enabled her to become an influential female architect. She became friends with Walter and Ise Gropius, Cornelis van Eastern, and Frieda Fluck as well as Marcel Breuer, Siegfried Giedion and many others. Her correspondence became an important medium for her work as she shared her career plans and information about her recent projects. Thus, the research question is in a great part inspired by her vast correspondence network, where she reigned unchallenged. In a private letter to her sister, Syrkus makes it apparent that her typewriter was an integral item without which she would only depart for holidays. In any other case, a full-size or pocket typewriter would constantly be at her side. This special relationship that was prominent in Syrkus’ life gave impetus to the research question: Has Helena Syrkus’ typewriter become a passport of Modernism to Polish architecture?