Content area
Full text
A look at the most significant changes in senior living design over the past decade
Design tends to be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Progress is typically made in incremental steps, tweaking what "is" to change what "will be." Occasionally, a revolutionary idea comes along, one that makes us stop and reconsider what we thought we knew. So when I was asked to write about what I feel are the top 10 design innovations from the past decade, I let my mind wander over all the changes we've witnessed. There is now widespread recognition that things will be different as the Baby Boom generation moves, inexorably and generally unwillingly, into that category of citizenship we have, in the past, so easily called senior citizens. This is not a cohorr that takes aging (or anything else for that matter) lightly. Many are already helping aging parents cope with later life changes, vowing that things will be different when they get to that stage. Wc are beginning to see that commitment in changes to nursing homes. It is heartening for those of us who have been in the industry for 25 or more years to see that people are increasingly unsatisfied with what we let nursing homes evolve into - staff-centric institutions that cared more for the body than the soul. 1 wouldn't yet call the culture change movement a tsunami, but it is certainly a significant groundswell, with enough traction to be more than a passing fad. Whether you refer to it as person-centered care, resident-directed care, or as I prefer, self-directed, relationship-based life, it is here to stay.
But there have been changes in other arenas as well. So lets explore the past decade. Some ideas are big - at the scale of the building or even the community - while other innovations appear in areas such as the small details of a handle grip. All make a difference.
INTENTIONAL ELDER-FRIENDLY COMMUNmES
One of the most exciting new developments is the creation or renovation of whole corrimunities intentionally designed to support not only aging in place, but aging in age-integrated communities. It is widely recognized that the suburban model, with multilevel houses and a reliance on cars and mega-malls, does not support aging in place. Elder-friendly...