Due to the ageing society, policy focuses on independent living of elderly in need for care. While the preferences of the elderly to live autonomously vary, there is limited information on variation in needs for the physical environment, e.g., shared and private places. A pilot study was done to develop insights into preferences for social and physical environment of the elderly in need for care. A questionnaire (N=52) and workshop (N=22) were conducted with future elderly. The study showed that preferences for ways of living largely varied. Many were willing to share facilities and help each other, although they did not want to provide somatic care. Based on the results two new concepts were explored, i.e. farm like housing in the city centre and small-scale housing with friends. The concepts, resulting from the questionnaire and workshop, suggest that the method can be used to further explore connections between preferences and design.