This research is about the meaning of self-reliant living and what the physical environment can bring to improve this, with as main research question;
In what ways can architecture encourage elderly to become more self-reliant. The research is conducted through fieldwork observations and interviews in care home 't Kampje in Loenen aan de Vecht, as well as through literature and case studies. The anthropological research led to a conclusion that many people living in care facilities show passive behavior and are not as self-reliant as they used to be. Many of them don’t interact as much with each other and barely do something for each other. The goal of this research is to find out what it means to be self-reliant and how a person can remain like that with the help of architectural tools.

Self-reliance is about realising an acceptable level of functioning in the important areas of daily life. If necessary, by organising the right help at the moment that a decline in the performance level threatens or occurs that cannot be prevented or remedied by oneself. These important areas of life are called; ‘life domains’.
Both healthcare institutes GGD and Vilans use these domains to value their clients degree of self-reliance- and direction. The domains differ in some areas, as the domains of the GGD are used for anyone in the Netherlands, and the domains from Vilans are more tailored for elderly. The 10 domains that Vilans describe are; daytime activities, living conditions, physical functioning, mental functioning, cognitive functioning, housekeeping, general daily, social network, mobility, and the financial situation.

Each domain has certain conditions for a person to be called fully self-reliant. Most of these conditions indicate a need for independence and a safe- and healthy living environment. Architecture alone can not provide all the answers for self-reliant living, the living environment around the building plays an equal role in the degree of self-reliance for
a person. The extracted design tools for each domain show correlations between each other. Such as having places for gardening, the promotion of natural movement, the need for a diverse aged target group, homes that are compact and life-cycle proof, close proximity of shops, public transport- and other amenities, and the need for a social environment. These are the main architectural / urban strategies that can encourage elderly to become more self-reliant. These have to do mainly with being- and remaining healthy in a physical way, a mental way, and a social way.
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Current elderly housing in the Netherlands is not suited for the needs of the elderly. There is not one type of elderly, but many, all with different needs. A problem lies with one of the groups: anonymous elderly. Even though socially isolated elderly think they are happy, social isolation causes stress and therefore health-related problems. When they get older, the problems will get worse and they need professional care which already has a shortage. Therefore, society should step in and help each other. The following research question is derived from this problem: How can architecture stimulate the social safety of elderly, while maintaining their individuality?
My goal is to create a new concept with architectural tools to develop a place where people can stay for the rest of their lives. A place where they can keep their individuality, but where they can rely on the help of others, even when they can’t ask for it. Designing to create spontaneous encounters can contribute to the social networks of the elderly. ... Read more

What are the preconditions for aleatory occurrence of social interaction? Can unexpected public activities be catalyzed by specific spatial characteristic? The objective of the thesis is to explore the flexibility, mobility and adaptiveness in architecture and urban domain through the research of “Public Condenser” within multiplicity and complexity of political, economic and cultural conditions in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Instead of proposing fixed programs that inform people how to behave, the public condenser allows spaces for multiple narratives by diverse users. The design proposed a urban living room for sharing and creativity that facilitates the encounter of unknown. ... Read more

This graduation report researches what a public condenser can contribute in the neigbhourhood Vesterbro in Copenhagen. Research is done in what subjects a public building can play a role. What positive impulses can it provide in this neighbourhood. In short: Why is a public building needed in Vesterbro? How can it contribute to the subjects discovered? What does a public building look like if it wants to fulfill the role it has to have in this neigbhourhood? ... Read more

Nowadays, lots of geo-information (GI) is openly available. The value of this information lies in its use. Geoportals play an important part in allowing users to discover and access suitable data for their use cases. However, the user-friendliness of these geoportals is not as it should be. As the communicational layer between a system and its users, a more user-friendly UI can result in a more user-friendly geoportal. In an explorative research methodology involving a literature study into UIs and geoportals, assessing existing geoportals, and a user requirements session, I developed a guideline for user-friendly geoportal UIs: the Geoportal User-Interface Design Evaluator (GUIDE). The elements captured in the GUIDE cover the different parts of the UI: the content presentation, the interaction with available services (system interaction, navigation, search mechanisms, access mechanisms, and communication mechanisms) and the enabling information (metadata and help mechanisms). Concrete implementation examples of these design elements are provided by implementing a mock-up in accordance to the GUIDE. To assess whether or not the elements of the GUIDE result in an increase in user-friendliness, the results of a benchmark usability session are compared to the results achieved during a follow-up usability session with the mock-up. The tasks participants perform during these sessions are all related to the most important reasons why users would visit a geoportal: discovering data, assessing whether the discovered data is suitable for a specific use case, and accessing the data. The comparison of the results of the two usability studies suggests that the elements listed in the GUIDE as implemented in the mock-up indeed result in a more user-friendly geoportal UI. In the adopted usability metric that covered 128 fields related to performance and self-reported metrics, the mock-up outperformed the benchmark in 95 fields. This improvement is confirmed by qualitative comments of the six participants of the usability sessions and by experts of the Dutch geo-platform PDOK. Especially the increase in efficiency is appreciated. Based on the foundation the GUIDE and the corresponding mock-up provide, there is room for more in-depth research to further improve the user-friendliness of the UIs of geoportals. This, for example, involves looking into what communication mechanisms and help mechanisms, icons, terminology, or controls users prefer. Furthermore, additional research into the possibilities of adaptive UIs for geoportals can be valuable to suit possible differences in the needs and preferences of the different individual users. ... Read more