Getting young and old together is a social and political concern

About the authors

Eckhard Feddersen is an experienced architect focussed on social building. Insa Lüdtke is an upcoming architect, journalist and networker. Two very different people who share a great sense of curiosity, an open mind and a passion to communicate. “We got to know each other more than 10 years ago, since then we find ourselves working as an inspiring interdisciplinary team. The topic for the design manual is not only the future of the elderly. It also concerns comfort and safety which is important to everyone.

Life is about feeling “at home”

According to Feddersen and Lüdtke  life is about feeling “at home”, which means feeling safe and comfortable. However that also includes the quality of the neighbourhood, infrastructure and the cityscape as a whole. They say that for each individual to feel comfortable, a myriad of minute factors have to be fulfilled. Among the many functional means of addressing these factors, architects feel particularly driven to provide the appropriate design frame for this sense of well-being. “In the process, we need to be aware that in old age, one is still very much able to judge what one likes and dislikes. The attraction of unnecessary frippery fades with age in favour of more “essential” aspects, items of actual worth, clarity of expression and fitness of purpose.” With the design manual the authors hope to convey something of this message. They focus on human needs, not on those especially for the elderly. “Therefore we prefer to underline the concept of “Universal Design” as a strategy beyond scale.”

Housing projects throughout the world

Feddersen and Lüdtke  write that the average life expectancies in central and northern Europe as well as in Japan are the highest in the world, even when some other populations have a particularly high proportion of elderly people who reach an advanced old age. The average is highest in western central Europe. It is therefore no surprise that a greater than average proportion of good examples featured in the design manual are to be found in Switzerland and neighbouring countries. “Scandinavian countries and Switzerland have high tax-quotes and seem to cope with the topic in a better way than others. However taking care for the needs of sick and old people is economically very smart because in the future you don’t need to adjust buildings and infrastructure all the time. Yet old age is not a territorial or national phenomena but a global issue. The whole world would like to live as long as one already lives in central Europe. Our topic will become increasingly important in coming decades in regions of the world outside of the highly industrialized nations, although this may apply only to particular sections of society.” Even in China and India, families are already increasingly paying outside providers to assist the family with “services” that they in the past provided themselves. The only realistic alternative to the variety of forms, typologies and concepts for housing old people shown in the book is the Scandinavian model. Here, elderly citizens are provided with outpatient care in their homes, and special facilities and homes for the elderly are rarely built. “Checking senior citizens into a nursing home would not be our first choice. Rather building houses in a way that makes it easy for them to be adapted according to the needs of inhabitants is a better alternative. However, that is not to say that nursing homes are the poorer choice. At some point especially dementia often makes staying at home not acceptable [possible] any more – for the elderly nor their families.” This, however, requires even greater investment and involvement and is only possible with a corresponding political commitment.

Conclusion: Address the living requirements of young people, of families and of ever older generations

The design of housing for the elderly is not generally regarded by architects as a glamorous task. The temples of global society have been and continue to be museum of different cultures, the headquarters of powerful financial institutions or showpieces for leisure and culture. This situation changes, however, as soon as we begin to reappraise society’s actual needs, to focus less on wealth and luxury and more on bringing real needs into the foreground. It becomes immediately apparent that there is no greater or more urgent task than to address the living requirements of young people, of families and of ever older generations. “We suggest an interdisciplinary context and to integrate people dealing with the topics everyday like residents and care personnel. And last but not least we learn from project to project.”