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OCR for page 218
Design Problems in
Enhancing Producl~ivit:T
and Independence in
Housing for the Elderly
Victor Regnier
Design research addressing the behavioral aspects of built en-
vironments is a relatively new area of investigation. The profes-
sional organizations and journals that deal with this body of
scholarship are less than 20 years old and continue to sort out
the fundamental relationships that exist between the designer
and the behavioral based environmental design researcher. In
the last few years, several books (Moore et al., 1985; Sommer
and Sommer, 1981; Zeisel, 1981) have been written that inform
designers in a careful and thorough way how to interpret re-
search findings and how to use the methodology of social science
inquiry in the design and programming process to ensure that
the final product is responsive to the social and behavioral needs
of users.
BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
For the last 16 years, organizations like the Environmental
Design Research Association (EDRA) have attempted to develop
a dialogue between architectural designers and social science
Victor Regnier is associate professor of architecture and gerontology, University of
Southern California.
218
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DESIGN PROBLEMSIN]IO USING FOR THE ELDERLY
219
researchers. This organization has been committed to sharing
research methods and techniques that clarify the relationship
between a designed environment and the human response to
that environment.
EDRA has experienced some difficulty in its efforts to serve
both designers and researchers. The design-oriented members of
the organization are generally concerned with communicating
findings and with the ultimate application of behavioral re-
search to the design of the environment. Social science research-
ers, on the other hand, are concerned with increasing the sophis-
tication of research methods and modifying traditional social
science models to better understand the relationship between
the physical environment and human behavior. Social science
researchers tend to be more interested in the development of
theory-based research that contributes to a better understand-
ing of predictive models of human behavior. Designers are inter-
ested in the evaluation of the environment and in identifying
the design details, physical design parameters, and design con-
cept modifications that lead to a more successful and satisfying
design product.
An Application Gap Between Designers
and Researchers
There is a lack of overlap between the interests and work of
environmental designers and that of social science researchers.
The gap has widened as a result of the tendency of environmen-
tal design researchers and social scientists to define the goals of
their research or design activities in such a way as to preclude
the interest and influence of one another's work. The result is
that designers retreat further from the application of theory-
based methodologies and social science researchers become less
concerned about how to "apply" their findings.
Design research in gerontology and other aspects of life-span
development has played a fundamental role in the development
of design research methodologies and the creation of new knowI-
edge. The activities of the Gerontological Society's Aging and
Environments Committee occurred at a strategic time in the
development of the field of design research inquiry. This project,
which brought together social scientists and designers with in-
terests in aging (Byerts et al., 1979; Lawton et al., 1982), pro
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VICTOR REGNIER
vided a tremendous boost to the development of research in this
field. Many environmental design researchers who had not been
interested in gerontology immediately recognized the informa-
tion needs of designers who hoped to create settings that sup-
ported a clientele who were considered "at risk." Social science
researchers saw the opportunity to develop new social and be-
havior theories of environment that capitalized on the psychoso-
cial changes in later adult development.
In 1981 Zeise! wrote a book entitled Inquiry by Design, which
provided methods and suggestions for how designers and re-
searchers could work together in improving theory and offering
better applications of evaluation research to the design process.
The book carefully inspected the iterative process used by de-
signers to develop acceptable design solutions and suggested
where and how behavioral issues and social science input could
be linked to the holistic process of design decision making that
is sensitive to behavioral concerns.
Research ShouIc3 Inform Design
Zeisel conceived of the design process (Figure 1) as a linked
spiral influenced by two types of input: image information and
test information. Image information is used to refine aesthetic
and visual expression in the design product; test information
that comes from standards, environmental (natural forces) re-
search, and behaviorally based research allows the designer to
evaluate the design's functional attributes objectively. The de-
signer typically arrives at a solution by using image information
to create a drawing of the proposed environment. Test informa-
tion is used to judge the quality and soundness of that design
idea. The final des gn solution is the product of hundreds of
these iterations, which vary in scale and application. One itera-
tion could be as broad as testing the overall design concept; the
next could fine-tune details related to a kitchen cabinet design
(Figure 21.
Design behavior research, in addition to being used as test
information in the design process, is also used at the program-
ming stage. An architectural program is a written document
that serves as the communication between the architect and the
client. It specifies design intentions, behavioral objectives,
equipment, and furnishings. It is developed early in the design,
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
Decision
~J,/ --to build
Conceptual - -
shifts
image ~~~\ Consecutive
Domain of ;;'; A.
acceptable __ ...,
responses \ ~.~ //
FIGURE 1 The design development spiral. SOURCE: Zeisel (1981).
Eta
~E~
~ Empirical knowledge ~ ~
''~
FIGURE 2 Two types of information used in design. SOURCE: Zeisel (1981).
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VICTOR REGNIER
often before drawings are completed. The program contains in-
formation that places parameters around the design problem.
Behavioral research is frequently used to arrive at principles
and concepts that are articulated through the program.
The program from a fully developed design can also provide
working hypotheses for design research. Postoccupancy evalua-
tion is the term for the design evaluation process commonly used
to test design intentions and behavioral assumptions articulated
in architectural program. New knowledge, which results from
the evaluation of an occupied building, is used to aid design
decision making and to correct behavioral assumptions in future
programming documents. When postoccupancy evaluation is
carried out, design intentions and hypotheses developed during
the design process can be tested as research questions, thus
measuring the appropriateness and accuracy of design
assumptions.
Captain Eldridge Congregate Housing
One example of how postoccupancy evaluation can be struc-
tured and made more explicit and meaningful to designers is
through annotated plans that state environment behavior hy-
potheses (Zeisel, 19811. The Captain Eldridge Congregate House
in Hyannis, Massachusetts, illustrates 11 design-based research
questions. The designers and the researcher developed these
design hypotheses and linked them to the appropriate area on a
plan of the first floor. This project is a sheltered housing envi-
ronment that accommodates 20 older people. Many of these de-
sign hypotheses are based on the results of previous research
that has been used to develop the design solution. For example,
the design of the stair landing and the rail detail near the
elevator lobby have been constructed to allow residents to "pre-
view" the lower floor lounge before entering that setting. One
design hypothesis suggests that "building residents will use the
opportunity to preview spaces before making a commitment to
enter them." This behaviorally based design issue can be tested
after the building has been constructed and occupied.
The design-behavior hypotheses illustrated in the Captain
Eldridge Congregate House range from statements dealing with
the mix of unit types and sizes to assumptions that the environ-
ment will mediate social interaction. Developing intention state
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DESIGN PROBLEMSINHO USING FOR THE ELDERLY
223
meets as a by-product of the design process allows important
ideas to be made explicit for later testing.
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH
RESEARCH TRANSLATION
The most effective means of recording and testing the behav-
ioral outcomes of design are through the development of a com-
plete behaviorally based program and the postoccupancy evalu-
ation of the design objectives established for the project. When
program development and evaluation take place, behavioral in-
tentions are made explicit and the intended social purpose of the
building can be judged as successful or unsuccessful.
Unfortunately, the architectural profession often treats pro-
gramming as an added predesign service and considers postoc-
cupancy evaluation to lie outside the normal range of services
needed to design a building. This philosophy often results in
structures that are designed without either of these two ele-
ments. In the future, programming services may become more
common as architects recognize how an architectural program
can (1) stimulate effective communication between client and
architect, (2) minimize misunderstandings that may often lead
to litigation, and (3) lead to more confidence in the architect,
repeat work, and a greater likelihood of being referred to other
clients for future work.
Postoccupancy evaluation (POE) research will become more
common as academic institutions and independent research or-
ganizations pursue design evaluation. Yet it is unlikely that the
amount, pace, and precision of future POE research in the near
future will be great enough to satisfy the overwhelming needs
of design decision makers.
Greater Professional Recognition
for Research
Another problem that leads to a lack of interest in the behav-
ioral impact of design is the lack of attention it receives from
the architectural profession and the most prestigious architec-
tural journals. The architectural design journals (Progressive
Architecture, Architectural Record, and Architecture) typically
display "current" work and are most interested in the expres
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VICTOR REGNIER
sive, artful design solution that explores new design styles and
rarely addresses the social and behavioral aspects of design ex-
plicitly. This disregard for how architecture affects people is also
reflected in the way architectural criticism is conducted. In some
cases, architects may even pursue solutions that are antithetical
to the needs of specific clients in search of a new philosophy of
expression. Although functionalism is considered by some to be
an important attribute of a "good" architectural design, in the
eyes of critics it is definitely a necessary but not sufficient
condition for judging the design creativity and overall quality of
a final architectural product.
The l980s have seen radical changes in the acceptance of de-
sign philosophies as "post-modernism" and a wave of expressive
and highly decorative building forms replace the more staid and
disciplined philosophies of the "international school." Architec-
tural journals that had little of philosophical interest to report
in the 1970s now find themselves leading the effort to commu-
nicate the stylistic interpretations of this new wave of design
ideas. The behavioral design movement has suffered as atten-
tion has shifted to art expression in design while ignoring the
effects of design on users.
Design Journals Ignore Behavioral
Impacts of Design
New design ideas use design metaphors, search for historical
precedents, and generally involve more ornamentation and dec-
oration. The design professions and design journals have encour-
aged the pursuit of new directions at the expense of any careful
understanding of how these new design ideas affect people. In
fact, only one U.S. architectural journal has a specific policy of
reviewing buildings that are completed and occupied before they
are "published." Interest in pursuing the newest ideas at the
expense of understanding how buildings work for occupants and
users has encouraged a type of irresponsible architectural style
that pursues stylistic expression at the expense of a more thor-
ough and deeper understanding of the building and its qualities.
On the other hand, behaviorally based journals dealing with
design themes, such as the Journal of Architectural and PZan-
ning Research, rarely pursue design in the context of research.
The reporting of the results of postoccupancy evaluations is fre
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
225
quently undertaken with little understanding or concern about
the overall quality of the design work being evaluated. Further-
more, the lack of a critical tradition in design research makes
the architects whose buildings are being evaluated very uncom-
fortable with the process of "objective" evaluation.
Designs that do not work for occupants or that are outright
behavioral failures ironically can be design award winners. One
need go no further than Pruitt-Igoe, the infamous St. Louis
public housing development, to uncover a project that received
widespread professional recognition and several design awards
upon completion. In less than 10 years, it was recognized as a
behavioral design failure, and plans for demolition were
approved.
DESIGN ISSUES AND CONCEPTS
The following six design-related issues and concepts are impor-
tant themes that frequently appear in the environmental design
research literature:
· physiological issues,
sensory aspects of design,
social interaction and social exchange,
way-finding,
neighborhood concerns, and
management and design.
The following discusses how each theme has been defined in
research efforts and the implications for design application.
Physiological Issues
One of the most critical yet overlooked aspects of the physical
environment is the matching of equipment, furnishings, and
design details to the special physiological needs of the older
person. The most obvious and embarrassing design errors are
those that reflect an ignorance of basic physiological require-
ments. Windows that are impossible for the arthritic hand to
manipulate; kitchen storage that requires back-breaking bend-
ing or a reaching device to access; doorknobs that are difficult
to turn; controls that are impossible to read; and furniture that
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VICTOR REGNIER
is difficult to enter or exit are a few of the most frequently cited
design mistakes (Koncelik, 19791.
Better Communication of Research Findings
The results of numerous postoccupancy evaluations and the
growing experience and sensitivity of manufacturers to the
"graying" profile of the American consumer have hac] some in-
fluence on product development. Yet it is still relatively easy to
find new elderly housing projects without lever door handles or
congregate housing projects that specify bathtubs with poorly
located grab bars. Problems in this area frequently do not re-
quire more research but rather better communication of re-
search findings and good practice habits to design decision
makers.
Older consumers who have been sensitized to these issues now
frequently insist that safety features and "considerate" design
solutions be employed. Some solutions, however, appear so insti-
tutional as to make them clearly unacceptable (Steinfeld, 1979)
because of the associations they have with disability or nursing
home environments.
Barrier-free Design and Adaptable Housing
Steinfeld conducted extensive analyses that involved research
in human factors as well as empirical tests of various design
solutions for the physically disabled. The findings from his re-
search were used to revise the new American National Stan-
dards Institute (ANSI) (1980) handicapped design standard.
In analyzing the existing research in the area of disability,
Steinfeld discovered a complete lack of empirical data regarding
the use of bathrooms and limited data regarding the use of
kitchens and small circulation spaces such as elevators. He also
found the literature on the use of ramps to be conflicting.
One of the most promising new ideas that arose from the
research project was the notion of "adaptable" housing. Stein-
feld identified three major areas of the dwelling unit that have
significant effects on the adaptability of the unit; kitchen de-
sign, bathroom (resign, and circulation/clearance. His primary
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
227
thesis was that housing designed from the outset using accessi-
bility criteria and including tolerances and clearances for wheel-
chair users will not add significantly to building costs and later
can be easily adjusted for various disabled or handicapped users.
Among the requirements for an adaptable kitchen are: adjust-
able features such as sink and work areas that can be Towered
and raised; wall cabinets mounted 48 inches above the floor;
wall-mounted, self-cleaning ovens; pantry storage; and double-
door refrigerators with 50 percent of the freezer space Tower than
54 inches.
The simple idea that housing may be adapted to the particular
needs of the occupant resolves the question of what type of
"special hardware" should be specified in housing for the el-
derly. Steinfeld's adaptable housing prototype develops a flexible
foundation that can be changed as the resident's increasing dis-
abilities warrant greater support.
Much work needs to be done in understanding how inexpen-
sive adjustments to single-famiTy housing can enhance safety
and independence. Because approximately 70 percent of those
over age 65 live in independent, single-famiTy, owner-occupied
dwellings, solutions that retrofit these environments to support
the older person's independence can have great influence.
Sensory Aspects of Design
Changes associated with normal aging frequently affect the
acuity, accuracy, and general functioning of sensory organs.
Taste, touch, sight, and hearing can all experience normal incre-
mental losses as an organism ages. In some cases, these Tosses
or partial losses can profoundly affect the way in which the
environment is perceived or used. Sensory Tosses must be fully
understood so that design practices can compensate and not
exacerbate these problems.
The most common and design-sensitive sensory Toss is that of
sight. Low light levels and poor figure-to-ground contrast in
designs, labels, and graphics can make it difficult to read impor-
tent messages and cues (Pastalan, 19791. One of the strategies
available for dealing with problems of visual loss is to create a
high level of diffused light on critical surfaces where light is
needed (Hiatt, 19801.
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VICTOR REGNIER
The Treatment of Light Is a Major Issue
The addition of more light can cause major problems by intro-
ducing glare. To mitigate glare, single light sources and high
contrasts in light levels should be avoided. Design solutions
should strive to use indirect light sources because they minimize
glare. Food preparation counters in the kitchen, the toilet and
bathtub, and corridor spaces in which older person can trip and
fall are a few of the critical settings in which careful attention
to lighting can increase safety.
Hearing loss can also be a critical sensory issue. Increasing
the absorption of unwanted sound in spaces in which conversa-
tions take place and minimizing reverberation and background
noise are common environmental strategies that are used to
respond to hearing problems.
The Empathic Approach to Age-related Vision and
Hearing Changes
The "empathic model," which simulates the environment as it
is experienced by older persons with normal sensory Tosses (Pas-
talan, 1979), can be a useful training and research device. The
model consists of a pair of glasses with specially coated lenses
to simulate normal, age-related vision losses and an audio baf-
fling device that reduces the volume and filters out high-fre-
quency sounds. When outfitted with this equipment, a younger
researcher can simulate the conditions under which an older
person may perceive the physical environment. The empathic
mode! has been used as a postoccupancy evaluation device out-
fitting the researcher with a way of noting the perceptual prob-
lems an older person might have in negotiating an environment.
Normal age-related changes in vision involve a decrease in
visual acuity and a decrease in the ability to refocus on objects
at different distances. Older people also find it difficult to see
well under Tow light conditions, to discern certain color intensi-
ties (color differences between green and blue are often con-
fused), and to judge distances.
Progressive hearing Toss normally leads to an inability to hear
high-frequency sound and a reduction in the ability to hear all
sounds in general. Background noises, particularly Tow-fre-
quency sound, interferes with the older person's ability to hear
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
239
explorations of environmental support and design has been ten-
uous, although Moos and Lemke (1979) have developed a physi-
cal and architectural features (PAF) checklist that is useful to
design decisionmakers.
CASE STUDIES
One of the best ways to understand how design preferences
and management response can be combined is to Took at several
projects in which new ideas have been tested. The following
three case studies are of different-sized residential settings for
older residents.
The VilIa Marin, San Rafael, California
The Villa Marin is a new, 220-unit continuing care retirement
community located in Marin County, California. It is unusual
from a management, administrative, and design perspective.
The concept involves an onsite nursing home and a personal
care unit that are administered through a condominium-styTe
financing program. Residents own their own units and pay a
monthly charge for maintenance and for health care service.
The condominium-style arrangement allows residents an equity
investment in the project, while at the same time they receive
the benefits associated with a traditional continuing care retire-
ment community.
The Villa Marin has pursued a number of interesting ideas.
From an administrative and managerial perspective, the project
offers the following features:
· It is managed by a condominium governance system that
allows residents to make and direct policies regarding the pro-
vision of health service, maintenance, and upkeep.
· Meal services are "unbundled." Residents are required to
take only one meal a day in a large communal dining room.
Other meals can be purchased on an a-la-carte basis, prepared
in the full kitchen of each unit, or taken in one of several neigh-
borhood restaurants.
· Residents are required to join a health care organization
that has negotiated a capitated fee agreement with the Villa
Marin management. This feature allows management to control
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VICTOR REGNIER
health care costs while providing residents with high-quality
health care.
With regard to physical characteristics, the Villa Marin offers
the following features:
· Units are large, and each is designed to include a full
kitchen. In the majority of units, two bathrooms are provided.
Sixty-five percent of the units are 2-bedroom units that average
1,200 square feet. When two bathrooms are designated in one
unit, one bathroom has a shower and the other a tub to provide
choice and ensure safety.
· The common services located on the first floor include not
only the traditional sedentary activities, such as a library, card
room, arts and crafts area, and auditorium; they also include an
indoor swimming pool, a spa, and an exercise room. The empha-
sis on exercise, health, and nutrition and the central location of
these amenities in the building encourage residents to pursue
an active life-style.
· The architectural treatment emphasizes residential style,
eliminating any implications of institutionalization. The nurs-
ing home and personal care units are located below the first
floor and are recessed into the downsiope of the hillside. Each
personal care or nursing unit has an attractive view of the
surrounding foothills. This treatment carefully conceals this in-
stitutional element; in conventional projects, it is often handled
as a separate building that lends an institutional character to
the campus. The entrance to the nursing unit is convenient and
centrally located for residents who choose to visit friends and
relatives.
, . . .
The Villa Marin is one of many new continuing care-type
communities being developed for higher income older residents
who wish to have the social, health, and recreational supports
of congregate housing and a less institutional service network
with larger residential units.
Congregate Housing, Beverly Hills, California
A new congregate facility designed for a higher income popu-
lation and located in the city of Beverly Hills, California, is
currently in the planning stage. This project has also pursued a
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
241
number of social, behavioral, and administrative goals in its
planning and design. The building has been designed through a
participatory process that involved 20 older community mem-
bers in design decision making. Focus group discussions, reviews
of model units/designs, community service preferences, and ex-
pert opinions were used to arrive at a housing design and a
management-governance document for residents (Regnier,
1985b). Some of the administrative and physical features that
this project pursues include the following:
· Residents have the choice of taking meals in six different
ways in this project. They can dine in a large communal dining
area or a private dining room. They can take a snack at the bar/
delicatessen or have an informal breakfast of rolls and coffee in
an area that overlooks a garden area in the morning. They can
prepare a meal in their own room or have a meal delivered there.
Maximizing choice and providing opportunities for taking meals
is an integral part of the project's concept.
· A resident-centered management and administrative gover-
nance system will place the responsibility for building evalua-
tion in the hands of an elected resident committee. The commit
tee will be structured to evaluate the operations, management,
and environment each year and will be provided with technical
assistance to do so. Space is set aside for a resident council
meeting room with copying equipment, a typewriter, and a per-
sonal computer for resident use only.
· An emphasis on exercise and physical therapy (swimming
pool, spa, exercise room) will encourage residents to maintain a
regular exercise regimen. Office space for visiting doctors (mas-
sage, therapist), and individual health assessments will also be
available.
· A "main street" pedestrian area near the center of the
building with skylights and plantings will provide a convenient
and central area for social interaction. Various activities will be
clustered around this open space (lounge, library, post office,
convenience store, beauty/barber, bar/deli, auditorium).
The Beverly Hills congregate residence is a rather exclusive
congregate housing facility oriented toward high-income resi-
dents. It follows the trend of numerous self-contained congregate
facilities that vary in size from 100 to 150 units and that are
being developed throughout the country. These settings are de
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VICTOR REGNIER
signed to support residents who desire the social interaction,
food service, and health security services provided by such a
facility. This particular project pursues the idea of maximizing
choice and creating settings for informal social interaction.
Captain Eldridge Congregate House,
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Small congregate housing developments designed for between
15 and 25 residents are also being constructed in various parts
of the United States. These settings are similar in nature to the
sheltered housing arrangements that have been popular for
many years in England and northern Europe. The Captain Eld-
ridge Congregate House, Hyannis, Massachusetts, is a state-
financed housing development. It is a remodeled, nineteenth-
century sea captain's single-family house that has been ex-
panded to accommodate 20 older residents. The project used a
design process that capitalized on the experiences of administra-
tors and project directors of several similar, earlier projects. Some
of the administrative and physical features that this project
pursues include the following:
· The management office is a small, unobtrusive alcove To-
cated adjacent to the front entry. The full-time manager is
nearby for assistance and counseling, but the office does not
overpower the residential quality of the housing environment.
· Small-scale, noncommercial food preparation equipment was
used in order to minimize the fixed costs associated with the
production of food. Two dining rooms, one a small informal
kitchen nook and a second larger communal dining space, are
provided. Residents also have a small kitchen in each unit.
· A dramatic atrium design was used to create a focus for the
interior of the project. The space not only provides better visual
integration between the first and second floors, but it also serves
to naturally ventilate the space during the spring and fall.
· Unit entries are designed with sitting spaces, double-hung
windows, Dutch doors, and exterior lights, all of which are used
to control the relationship between the unit entry and the com-
mon corridor that links the units together.
Small congregate houses are becoming a more popular solu-
tion to the problem of creating residentially scaled communities
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
243
in which individuals can provide informal support to one an-
other while receiving the care, attention, and assistance they
may need in order to live independently.
DESIGN COMMUNICATION
There are a number of different ways in which information
about the behavioral aspects of design can be communicated to
design decision makers. Before environmental design research
can be considered truly useful, it must find its way to the draw-
ing board. Some of the following approaches represent avenues
for effectively communicating research findings to design profes-
sionals, while at the same time emphasizing behaviorally based
design decision making.
Design Communication Through Training
The most effective ways to influence architects, landscape ar-
chitects, and interior designers to think about the needs of the
elderly is through the educational system. Schools of architec-
ture frequently consider themselves to be on the cutting edge of
design methodology development. Many schools have faculty
members with interest and expertise in behavioral evaluation
who teach seminar and design studio classes. Exposing students
to applicable techniques, such as behaviorally based program-
ming and postoccupancy evaluation, can be quite useful.
In design studio projects, developing a literature review that
includes behavioral data can influence the way students think
about how their designs affect people. The interdisciplinary as-
pects of design evaluation can be facilitated in an academic
institution that provides opportunities for sharing knowledge
between disciplines.
Professional Seminars
Professional seminars that provide practicing architects with
advice about the current state of the art in behaviorally based
research can be effective. Providing information focused on a
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problem that is considered to be important and relevant is an
effective way to intervene.
Journals and Books
Publishing projects that have been evaluated or that are par-
ticularly good examples of thoughtful, behaviorally based design
can be instructive to architects searching for examples of build-
ings that work well. Often, a project that pursues a behaviorally
based design idea in a careful and thoughtful way can provide
evidence of both a design methodology as well as an illustration
of an excellent design idea.
Development and Recognition of Exemplary
Projects
An architect who designs housing may find visiting examples
of excellent projects both useful and constructive. Rarely are
projects judged by any objective criteria; therefore, "walking
through" a project may provide the visiting architect with as
much misinformation as it does valuable insights. Exemplary
projects should be identified and evaluated.
Competition and Design Awards
Frequently, design competitions are used as a vehicle for ex-
ploring new design ideas or for applying those ideas to a specific
context. Normally, designs are judged only by site design and
aesthetic criteria. Competitions that stress excellent behavioral
solutions to complex problems can be a way of assembling ideas
to stimulate careful thinking on the part of designers. The pub-
lication low Rise Housing for Older People (Zeise! et al., 1977)
is an example of a design competition that was used to produce
a handbook on the development of Tow-rise housing.
Making Future Market Preferences Explicit
Examining past housing products can provide only a partial
viewpoint of what new cohorts of older people will expect and
prefer in retirement housing. The careful scrutiny of market
preference research and cohort-based analysis of preferences will
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
245
provide architectural programmers with a sense of what new
activities, amenities, and management-governance should be
explored.
Support for Postoccupancy Evaluation
More support and recognition for postoccupancy evaluation
research will lead to a better research base from which program-
ming input and tested behavioral design ideas can be developed.
The lack of tradition and support for postoccupancy evaluation
must be changed if designers are to learn from past mistakes
and avoid future problems.
Problems with Information Transfer ant!
Experimentation
One of the most troublesome difficulties in design-based eval-
uation is the communication of information to design decision
makers. Training architectural students to understand and use
behaviorally based research in the design process is one way to
deal with information transfer problems. Another way is to en-
courage collaboration with consultants whose expertise focuses
on the behavioral aspects of design. Nonetheless, there are many
impediments that keep designers and sponsors from developing
buildings that are sensitive to the needs of older residents.
Regulatory Requirements
Health and safety requirements frequently discourage archi-
tects from pursuing more humane and less institutional solu-
tions, a pattern that is more pervasive in nursing home design
than for other building types. The regulations that protect health
and safety are frequently so restrictive that they discourage any
innovative ideas. In addition, such regulations may be inappro-
priate and can be applied unevenly in differing communities.
A lack of understanding regarding the social and behavioral
qualities associated with residential-type solutions often keep
the environment from appearing more humane. For example,
some occupancy codes and nursing home policies are written in
such a way as to discourage an individual from bringing furni-
ture and equipment from his or her former home. This provision
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VICTOR REGNIER
eliminates the visual and perceptual continuance of a life-Ion"
association with important items that are imbued with meaning
and affective significance. Some regulatory requirements are
not only counterproductive but may even be outdated. For ex-
ample, regulations that discourage Tong-term care settings from
using wood in preference to polyplastics err by specifying a
substitute that actually burns more actively and creates a dense
smoke by-product from combustion.
Budgetary Constraints
Frequently, the development of new ideas is met with conser-
vative inertia, which can place narrow limits around the types
of solutions the designer pursues. The lack of available infor-
mation to test the costs and benefits of new ideas is often a
problem that leads to the pursuit of a "safe" existing solution
that has been tried and tested but that does not improve the
state of the art.
Hesitancy of Manufacturers
Manufacturers have traditionally oriented their products to-
ward a poorly defined aging market. Choices of building hard-
ware and appliances that maximize safety and consider the sen-
sory deficits of an aging population are only now beginning to
be available in the marketplace. The aging of society has re-
ceived enough recognition that corporations now carefully con-
sider the impact of this market segment on their products. Much
work has yet to be done, however, to represent those needs to
manufacturers accurately.
A Lack of General Expertise in Design
Finally, the lack of expertise, or the lack of a general under-
standing about this user group, still creates problems. Many
firms designing housing for the elderly find themselves confused
by the literature and frequently make mistakes attempting to
respond to what they perceive are the needs of senior citizens. A
more careful segmentation of the particular social and physical
characteristics of the older person is a necessary prerequisite in
understanding perceived needs and desires. Designed environ
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DESIGN PROBLEMS IN HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
247
meets that are overly supportive may be as much of a problem
as those that err on the side of undersupport.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, a few of the major problems that characterize the
field of designing environments for the aging include the
following:
· There is a lack of clear-cut traditions to integrate the behav-
ioral aspects of design into a balanced process of design decision
making that considers aesthetics, site constraints, and the needs
of users/residents.
· The lack of effective communication strategies that sensi-
tize designers and design decision makers to the philosophical,
programmatic, and physiological needs of older people remains
a problem. More effective avenues of communication and inter-
active design decision making must be pursued if the level of
design sophistication and design response is to improve.
· Research must be structured and designed in such a way as
to address the specific needs of design decision makers. Environ-
mental design research that explores problems and ideas but
does not deal with the application of those ideas to the physical
environment may go unused.
There is much to be learned about the development of more
effective research and the pursuit of better means of making
that research useful and understandable to designers. Until
these problems are addressed, designers will continue to be ham-
pered and designed environments will continue to be fraught
with insensitive mistakes and problems.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
design decision
