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| PEOPLE FLOW
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Needs and aspirations
This requires a fresh look at precisely
those structures and systems in place
now that hinder rather than facilitate
domestic livability.
“We need to be active, rather than
reactive,” insists
Rama Gheerawo
,
Deputy Director at the Helen Hamlyn
Centre for Design at the Royal College
of Art. Cultural patterns and norms
can easily render issues invisible – and
habitual. “People can’t articulate a
problem if they don’t see it as such,”
Gheerawo reminds us. Human-centered
design approaches – design
with
people
rather than
for
people – can shed light
on these otherwise hidden bottlenecks.
“We’re at a point where we can
radically rethink residential housing,
and we need to,” Gheerawo says with
enthusiasm. “And it is not only from an
architectural or existing housing stock
point of view, but re-assessing the im-
pact of longevity. Radically rethinking
what it means to grow old within
a home, for instance.”
Inclusive, not exclusive
One likely future development is that
we will see more diversity in user focus,
from buildings for specific target groups,
such as the physically disabled or the
elderly, to all-inclusive, flexible and
adaptable facilities. Care homes
can cater to specific needs while
ensuring comfortable and dignified lives.
At the same time, we are seeing more
experiments with barrier-free multi-
generational, multicultural and multi-
functional accommodation.
We can already detect this emerging
diversity in both Europe and in the U.S.
in regard to housing for aging users.
Compared to yesterday’s narrow offer-
ings, more collaborative solutions are at-
tracting interest, such as co-housing and
intentional communities, where citizens
themselves co-design their retirement
homes and services in what is clearly a
swelling grassroots movement.
For those who prefer a more inde-
pendent DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach
over a DIT (Do-It-Together) model,
an increasingly popular concept is
independent living: being able to be
at home for longer. This is also variably
called aging in place or the lifetime
home; whatever the term, it requires
a re-examination of how we think
housing should function. Considering
the many demands of today’s lifestyles,
the need for a private sanctum com-
bined with the desire to entertain, this
re-visit to what home means to us is
long overdue.
Smart homes
Whether a lifetime home or shared ac-
commodation, clear trends point the
way to smarter design that takes into
account the user experience. An apart-
ment building door can be integrated
into an elevator access system that
recognizes the resident, opens the door
and turns on the lights. The elevator is
then automatically called to the ground
floor and waits, with the resident’s
destination floor pre-selected.
Gheerawo would also like to see
buildings that take better account of
weather conditions and seasons. “You
can have solar panels that angle to the
sun and technology that allows fresh
air into the home without opening the
window and losing heat.”
But the way smart homes commu-
nicate with us should also agree with
our behavior and our need for eco-feedback. And not solely because tech-