Fun by the grey

Abstract

The amount of elderly will increase in the future and elderly homes were abolished by the government due to cutbacks in 2012. There is no room for the target group that is too good for the nursing home and too bad for home care. In this Graduation Studio ‘Designing for Care I will anser the following question, ‘What kind of buildings and neighbourhoods do we need if (older) people take care of older people?’ In this context, care is seen as non-professional care. To answer this question I lived for one week in an elderly home to study the target group in their context. The main observations are passive behaviour and ‘being alone together’. Life in that elderly home reminds me of a factory. An ‘elderly factory’ that produces passive elderly. The relation with a factory is because of the daily routines and the behaviour of the residents. Everyday is the same, everything is planned, nothing is spontaneous. My goal is to transform the ‘elderly factory’ into a ‘fun factory’. A design where elderly live together and take care of each other. Fun in this context refers to the lifestyle and the living environment. Fun can be for instance social interaction or making yourself useful to help someone else.
To come up with a concept I asked people in my surrounding how they would live when they are old. The main answers focused on the people. Interviews gave me insights in what people are willing to share with others. Namely a kitchen, living room and a garden, a good balance between private and collective space is important. The kind of support that people are willing to give to their roommates is divided. They like to do leisure activities, are willing to do some household tasks but not provide medical care. Caregivers are needed and will offer home care.
To create a place where you are together, help and motivate each other we can learn from an existing co-living typology for a new target group, namely ‘student houses for elderly’. A house with private and collective rooms that are shared with a small group of selected people. The design is a modern courtyard typology. A collective greenhouse is surrounded by elderly houses and care-free houses. A surrounding that stimulates small talks, interaction and social control.