COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN STUDIO
Reminiscence: Community Living for the Elderly
// COMMUNITY // BELONGING : RESILIENCE : COMMUNITY : SOCIAL LIVING : ELDERLY HOME
In what way elderly home can be redefined through social living?
The initial idea of the project derived from the realization of highly increased proportion of elderly people in United Kingdom. With the growing older population, there is a need to create high quality and resilient community foster home. Concerning that the paradox of aging will never stop, the advancement and complexity of the urban lifestyle are one of the massive impacts that threaten and ravage their "authentic" versions of life. Most of the elderly are diagnosed with different type of diseases such as dementia as they age, this eventually will increase their degree of anxiety, causing various types of psychological illnesses. In this HOUSE OF MEMORIES, they can live in an “alternate reality” life where it is important to remain their hopes and expectations.
The old generations are perpetually having difficulties in adapting the complexity of the urban lifestyle as their past memory will always remain intact in the social physical world that they inhabit within their subconscious mind. As people age, the perceptions of the world around them alters and often stuck in a dilemma in between two different periods. Because of sensory impairment and the loss of visual, tactile, aural levels of perception, the environment will be for the aged increasingly confusing and frustrating (E.Pütsep, 1979, p.85). Often, they are less concerned by the societies and feeling rejected, which ended up losing the meaning of life and confusion.
It is crucial to consider the numerous types of attitudes, conditions and sensitivity of the elderly. Although not all of the elderly requires constant supervision, some of them are resisting the nursing care and capable of performing their own living. The only thing that they need is an ideal home-living space where they can really ambulate independently, restoring their faith and spirituality and an opportunity to communicate with the society to overcome loneliness.
The project is to create an appealing pro-sociality home to ensure the elderly and their families are content, with good light and attractive living environment. It will be an integral part of the community, helping to raise the aspirations of all. Alongside developing good quality of foster home, it is also crucial to stimulate communities to build on their strengths and shifts emphasis away from dependence and towards resilience.
Another fundamental and priority issues in order to support the foster scheme has always been the financial resources and manpowers. Understanding that most of the elderly were having financial problems where they couldn’t afford a costly care service. Therefore this home building has the capability to generate a slight income to keep the daily events and routines going, without relying too much on government funding.
To achieve such an event, integration between the elderly home and the surrounding neighbourhood must be emphasized. The structure of the entire social and building systems are constructed based on conventional ideas by facilitating advance elements to assist and to cultivate a redefined social relationship and towards a more conservative and satisfactory living. The scheme is to create a friendly non-alienated accessible homes and supportive communities to ensure sufficient high quality housing with good welfares for the elderly. There is no place more ideal and better for them to reclaim their memories, sharing experiences and live in the moment.
The approach is to ensure physical and psychological security can be reach to its maximum across the rooms. The layout was created to stimulate all the elderly’s senses at each and every corner of the building spaces by turning into a community village. The organization of the floor space and its function are designed to satisfy the demands of the elderly peoples. Habitable rooms are arranged in cluster forms by forming several small community. The basic idea is to promote and improve basic social relationship between rooms and communities.
Basic social interaction and personalized care can be delivered not just through the communal spaces, but also through side by side, opposite and cross interactions between the rooms. Social care and health problems can be addressed at all times. It is to encounter loneliness between rooms by creating a set of hierarchy but still remaining their own privatized space and boundaries.
Privatized units are provided to have their own room decorated based on their living lifestyle, habits and memories. Units are linked together as in a cluster organizations to provide an emotional security and support at all times. All basic daily needs, such as general store are served under the roof to reduce the risks of going out.
The building is served as a social interaction space between the elderly and community gatherings, which they are encouraged to do daily activities together. The concept of idea is to live as a part of the community and social to share interests, tastes, and experiences. Hence, a conceptual traditional space is created to provide an alternate reality to suit the elderly. It benefits those who suffers from severe dementia to live towards a more safe and healthy life.
