This research addresses the pressing question: ‘How can the architectural design of elderly independent living facilities enhance well-being by promoting social connections amongst the elderly?‘. The aim is to generate guiding principles for socially connected independent living facilities, specifically targetting elderly suffering from social isolation seeking an alternative to aging at home. This research identifies a crucial gap between aging at home and relocating to a care facility, emphasizing the need for a new option. This intermediary option aims to provide elderly individuals with the opportunity to age independently in an ideal living environment with the possibility to foster social connections that further enhance their well-being.
The methodology employs a hybrid approach, combining top-down and bottom-up methodologies. The top-down component extracts archetypal principles primarily from literature and case studies, providing universal design guidelines. Simultaneously, the bottom up aspect centers on understanding the unique needs of the elderly through primary research, ensuring a responsive and context-specific.
The resulting design guidelines are organized across various scales, addressing the intricate needs of the elderly and fostering well-being. The study not only contributes to architectural endeavours but also addresses societal challenges associated with an ageing demographic. In a world predominantly focused on environmental challenges, this research emphasizes the urgency of addressing societal issues, particularly the challenges associated with an aging demographic.
The scope of the study is delineated by a theoretical framework integrating key theories from architectural design, well-being, social connection, and elderly wants/needs. These theories collectively guide the research’s ambition, providing a comprehensive foundation for the proposed design guidelines.
In conclusion, the study culminates in 16 Design guidelines meticulously organized across dwelling, communal space, building program, and site conditions. These guidelines offer a nuanced and multi-faceted approach to architectural design, addressing the intricate needs of the elderly, fostering well-being, and alleviating loneliness. The proposed guidelines serve as a holistic blueprint for architects, ensuring the creation of socially connected and well-supported environments for the elderly in response to the challenges posed by the aging population and the identified gap in existing options.

By 2040 a quarter of the Dutch population consists of elderly people. This increasing number of elderly will lead to a higher demand for healthcare, but the healthcare sector is already overburdened by the high demand and shortages of professionals. Therefore, elderly have to live independently for as long as possible and enough suitable ageing-friendly housing is necessary. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many seniors find themselves residing in homes designed for families. Especially when living alone, these houses are often excessively spacious and unsuitable for ageing in place. However, alternatives to move to are not available or do not suit their needs, because they are for example not in their current neighbourhood or not affordable. At the moment the housing construction is stalled and housing plans can take many years, so it is necessary to focus on opportunities. This study focuses on addressing this issue by exploring the potential of transforming postwar neighbourhoods into ageing-friendly living environments, because research shows that solutions can be found in the existing urban context of the postwar neighbourhood.

The research investigates the architectural and spatial elements necessary for creating ageing-friendly environments through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, case study and by going on a fieldwork week to an real-life example of a residential facility where elderly people live together as a community. The results about housing preferences and needs of elderly people are translated into design guidelines for an elderly-friendly living environment divided into three scales: neighbourhood, building block and dwelling. The characteristics of and problems in the Dutch postwar neighbourhood and the possibilities for transformation are described through analysed literature. The research identifies strategies for renovating and repurposing existing housing stock, as well as incorporating new construction to meet the housing needs of the elderly population.

Overall, this research contributes to the construction of ageing-friendly living environments, improves housing conditions for the elderly in the Netherlands and offers insights into the transformation of the postwar neighbourhoods. To create an ageing-friendly living environment in postwar neighbourhoods, the most important topics need to be addressed on the basis of implementing the guidelines and therefore transformation in the postwar neighbourhood is necessary. Many homes, especially those designed for families, lack wheelchair accessibility and elevators. The green surroundings of postwar neighbourhoods can encourage elderly to spend time outdoors. So, making better use of this rich green and water structure is recommended. For the transformation of postwar neighbourhoods four categories of interventions are possible: splitting and expanding of existing dwellings, surgical interventions to make use of unused space, restructuring by demolishing and building new and building at the edges of the neighbourhoods where infrastructure becomes available due to the expecting reducing use of cars. Family houses and apartments can be split into multiple houses and residential buildings could be renovated, to expand, improve the look, improve sustainability, upgrade the plinth by adding other functions and make houses ageing-friendly by adding for example elevator access and renovating bathrooms. Hereby, the guidelines for an ageing-friendly living environment have to be implemented. Considering the shrinking households and the prevalence of elderly individuals living alone, transformation strategies should focus on densification with diversity in housing types, diverse residents, mixed-use and the creation of a sense of community.

Mental health patients often get taken out of their social network when going into intensive care or temporary Supportive Housing (SH). However, social network has a positive effect on the recovery and quality of life of patients with mental health illness (Rössler, 2006). Although mental health care policies are changing in the Netherlands, supportive housing remains needed - albeit in smaller amounts - for a specific group. This group often is not integrated into society. Using the neighbourhood as the community inhabitants integrate into (Perry, 1929) and a systemic review by Jovanović et al. (2019) on how architecture can positively influence social interaction in psychiatric hospitals, this research tries to find design guidelines for SH which increases social integration into neighbourhoods.
Through a literature study and case studies, several themes are established. These are tested with field research at a Dutch SH facility, where six staff members are formally interviewed and around eight inhabitants were informally interviewed. Additionally, observations were done on social interactions. Finally, experts are interviewed on the topic.
The results show that the inhabitants of SH are divers, but can be classified in two groups: 1. Heavy cases who need intensive, long-term care and 2. Short-term cases who do not have housing (Planije et al., 2017). Through the different scales, four main themes which can enhance social interaction could be established: Interaction with the neighbourhood, activating inhabitants, fitting different needs of inhabitants and finally, contact with nature.
In conclusion, architecture & the built environment and location conditions can have influence the social network of inhabitants of SH by providing opportunities for social interaction, while also enabling inhabitants to retreat.

The Dementia Art Academy is an integral part of the expansion of the TU Delft and is situated next to the new Delft Campus train station on Tanthofdreef. The design serves as a cultural hub for the neighborhood where various art forms, students, artists, but above all, individuals with dementia come together within one building. The design stands out as a pioneer in contemporary dementia care. The academy offers respite care, including guest rooms for individuals with dementia, providing temporary relief for caregivers at home, ultimately enabling those with dementia to remain living at home longer. Its design pushes the boundaries of dementia care by adopting a fresh approach in its architectural layout. Throughout the day, individuals are free to roam the grounds and move wherever they please, without constraints on their freedom in the form of fences or locks. The design facilitates this concept with the use of rounded shapes in its interior and exterior, guiding the way and minimizing the risk of getting lost. The building provides a warm inner world contrasted against a harsh outside world, encouraging its visitors to linger within the complex and is distinguished by its recognizable red color, making it easily recognizable in its urban setting. The academy features an auditorium, dance studios, music rooms, lecture halls, an exhibition space, and a cinema. Shared artistic facilities, including art forms like visual arts, music, dance, and gardening, where the guests can participate in daily activities, are spread across the ground floor and 1st floor. Through a long organic corridor traversing the building, the various art forms are interconnected, with art serving as a guiding (red) thread throughout the structure. The complex is characterized by a green inner courtyard featuring a centrally covered stage, vegetable gardens, a terrace, and various organic pathways.The academy encourages independance, autonomy and improves the overall well-being of people suffering from dementia. It is a place where individuals with dementia are integrated into society and treated as ordinary people, where students and individuals with dementia can learn from and with each other.

Health Creation as a holistic approach towards health – This new perspective on people's health aims to overcome the purely physical view of health and emphasize the importance of mental and social health. In this respect, the elderly and the socio-economically disadvantaged have been identified as target groups that require increased accessibility and awareness in the areas of health and social inclusion.
This led to the main question of this research: How can the principles of Health Creation be embedded into architecture that supports (elderly) people in remaining both physically and mentally active as well as socially integrated?
To answer this question, fieldwork investigations, conversations with experts in the field of healthcare as well as people from the target group, literature studies, documentaries, and case studies were involved.
These investigations showed that the existing health environment in the form of hospitals and general practitioners is not suitable for making people aware of their health. By integrating health-creating methods into a community setting, the institutional character can be eliminated, overcoming psychological barriers and positioning itself as an antithesis to the existing health environment. Elements of human-centered architecture, intergenerational interactions, nearby care, and the Blue Zones have proven to be pioneering approaches and can be implemented to generate a health-creating environment!

The modern healthcare system’s focus on treatment, rather than prevention, has failed to make progress against age-related chronic diseases like dementia. Our global world population is increasing as well as our lifespan, however, our healthspan (time free of diseases) has not followed these increases. Dementia, now a leading cause of death as it is affecting 15% of our world population, is considered a significant challenge as it increases healthcare costs and putting pressure on our systems. With the anticipated rise in dementia cases, it is crucial to explore non-pharmaceutical strategies. This research aims to address this gap by exploring how architecture and the built environment can contribute to dementia prevention through the development of design guidelines that promote healthy living strategies and raise awareness to work towards a health-oriented society

The aim of the research is to create architectural design guidelines for a housing facility including its immediate surroundings for adults with a Mild Intellectual Disability (MID). The potential to combine housing with additional neighbourhood facilities stimulating social interaction is taken into account to reduce loneliness and segregation from society and support them in their everyday life to make them more satisfied in the growing urban landscape. Observations and semi-structured interviews are done about typology & form, spatial organisation, outdoor surroundings, embedding, facilities, privacy, control/influence on the environment and social interaction in order to compare three different housing facilities as case studies. The research concludes that first of all the living environment of adults with an MID must be clear and structured. Secondly, overstimulation needs to be avoided and they must have the opportunity to connect with others. This means there should be a balance between a lively and calm living environment. If these preconditions are met, adults with an MID are able grow into their independence when the distance to care is gradually placed further away within the familiarity of their neighbourhood.

There exists today, a major discrepancy in care provision for youth suffering from, or beginning to experience, behavioural and medical health issues (BMH) at an age that is too young to self-advocate, too old for traditional social service infrastructure, but just right to intervene upon if properly recognized. What if human connection and the deliberate use of public space could provide additional built-in community-based support for our neurodivergent peers – what would this look like for a small urban city?

This study aims to investigate practical and minimally-invasive urban solutions for tackling the high care demand imposed on the psychiatric medical care community today. With a focus on decentralization, the burden of care might be alleviated and dispersed from a strictly clinical to a community setting, thus improving access for all.

About 90% of our lives are spend indoors. For many of the buildings we stay in, standards and design guidelines have been set up, but educational buildings are often left out. Around 2009 the project the “Frisse Scholen” was set up in the Netherlands. This project aims to create better indoor climates at primary, secondary, and vocational schools. Universities have not been considered, while university students also need healthy environments. These students also suffer from stress. This can severely impact the academic performance. Healing elements in the design of university buildings could decrease the stress. This research aims to create design guidelines for a new general university education building that improves the physical and mental well-being of students. The research will be anthropological for the most part with interviews, questionnaires, and observation. This will be supported by literature research.

With the growing number of seniors in the Netherlands and the ongoing reform of their accommodation since 2015, finding new housing forms for this target group is crucial in improving their quality of life as well as solving the housing crisis. Currently, seniors in the Netherlands face multiple imminent challenges, like the rapidly increasing cost of care in the country, growing issues of loneliness and the housing mismatch for the target group, which often lives in way too large housing for their needs and capabilities. In order to accommodate for this problems, clustered housing forms, or co-housing, have become an emerging option throughout Europe, while for the senior target group there has been little focus on it. In this research, litera- ture as well as user research will be utilized in order to confirm the potential for the target group as well as get insights on the actual users wishes and experiences with community based housing. As the literature research showed, clustered housing promises potential in reducing issues such as loneli- ness and lack activity in the senior target group, as well as being able to provide housing attractive for the target group to move out of their previous homes. Regarding the health of the users the literature showed the importance of access to greenery and views, highlighting the importance of the right location for their accommodation. Further, the user research highlighted the importance of the community to the users, and the ability to find social interaction whenever they want, which is not the case living in their previous family homes. Further, the users confirmed the importance of greenery to their living quality and the ability to personalize they homes. In conclusion, clustered housing proved to be a promising solution for the target group, if its done with attention to the community and their wishes.