Healthy Ageing

Design as a tool supporting prevention of modern diseases among middle-aged people

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

A.J. Troć Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

T.W. Kupers Teachers of Practice / A - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
A.M. Kockelkorn Public Building and Housing Design (supervisor 1)
F. Adema Building Product Innovation - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Aleksandra Joanna Troć
Physical Activity Healthy Ageing Active Design Healthy Living Environment
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Published Date

06-04-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

Ageing of the population is one of the most significant changes taking place in the population of the Netherlands, that will affect the dwelling design in the coming decades. This is also reflected by other phenomenon: together with the higher life expectancy, the quality of the lifetime deteriorates, of which the leading cause are chronic diseases.

One way to stop the negative trend is to change focus from curing the effects of the disease to the prevention of the unhealthy lifestyle, that contributes to it, by implementing changes in the living environment. In the last decades we observed the rise of architecture, that values comfort, efficiency, and entertainment supported by passive technologies, which contributed to decreased human energy expenditure. One of the design strategies, that presents an approach countering this problem is active design, the goal of which is to increase the amount of daily physical activity on all levels of urban scale. These methods are best to be implemented in a vulnerable age of 45-60 (middle-aged phase), when many of the health issues manifest - introducing particular dwelling solutions for this target group could minimize health problems they face in later life. The dwelling-scale design is crucial, as it is where people spend most of their daily time. From these reflections arises my mission for the project – to find spatial characteristics of a dwelling that can improve the physical and psychological health of middle-aged inhabitants.