Author: Jane Bringolf

Attachment by design

A row of villa units with palm trees around.Attachment to home is a complex concept. For older people it is often interpreted as a place holding memories and providing security and peace of mind. Consequently, attachment to home is usually cited as the reason older people are not keen to move. However, it could be because there aren’t any better places to move to, and that includes retirement villages. The design of the dwelling might be more important than the “resort-style” features in the glossy sales brochures. And that comes down to the details of the design.

Retirement village residents were asked what would encourage them to feel attached to the place they might move to or live in. That is, what design features would make them feel happy. Functionality of the space turned out to be key – not the latest fashions. This excerpt from the abstract shows that:

“…having an open/semi-open layout of internal space, large windows and plenty of sunlight, accessible large closet and storage space, shared/public green space and accessible and age-friendly design of entry, bathroom and kitchen area are features most participants found to be important in raising their sense of attachment to where they live”.

Although this is not a broadscale study, it indicates that these features aren’t just needed in retirement villages. They are attractive to any age. If we had mainstream homes with these features there would be more choice for “rightsizing”.

The title of the thesis from New Zealand is, The Role of Architectural Design in Enhancing Place Attachment for Older Adults in Retirement Communities.

 

Applying UD to organisations

A graphic showing words related to organisations. Increasing numbers of people with disability are achieving higher education attainments. But workplaces haven’t kept up with this social change. Recruitment bias is not easy to overcome without re-thinking hiring processes. But recruitment is only the beginning. The culture of the organisation also needs to be welcoming and inclusive. 

Equal Access: Universal Design of Professional Organizations is a useful checklist to start the process of being inclusive. It covers policies, planning, the built environment, staff, technology and information resources. It asks questions that cover people with differing native languages, gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities and disabilities. Age and older people are not mentioned. The checklist was developed from a post-secondary institution perspective, but the content is applicable in other organisational settings. 

In a related paper, a child care centre is used as a case study on inclusive practice in an organisation. Katherine Mowrer takes three views: sustainable development, universal design, and disability justice. As an academic paper, it includes philosophical discussions and theory. It utilises the Equal Access checklist described above in the analysis of the centre’s policies and practice. The title of the paper is Organization-Based Disability Access: A YMCA Childcare Center Case Study.

Are we achieving inclusive design?

Front cover of inclusive designer book. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) asked Julie Fleck to write a book about achieving inclusive design, which was published recently. Fleck was asked by Tourism for All whether she thought we are doing a good job with inclusive design. She said the UK has made huge progress since the 1980s when access became a town planning matter. Improved building regulation, including housing, have had a significant impact on the accessibility of the built environment.

The book also provided an opportunity for Fleck to look at what still needs to be done. She discusses the need to challenge perceptions, attitudes and behaviours. These are the factors that exclude and discriminate – often unintentionally. The book also looks at the London “Square Mile” and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has case studies and lots of pictures. The title of the book is, Are you an inclusive designer?  

Overview:

Despite improvements in the last 20 years we still have a way to go before all our buildings, places and spaces are easy and comfortable for everyone to use. This book puts forward a powerful case for a totally new attitude towards inclusivity and accessibility.

This book will empower architects to have more enlightened discussions with their clients about striving for better than the bare minimum. It also challenges the notion that inclusive design is a list of “special features” to be added to a final design. Inclusive design should be business as usual rather than something added on at the end of the development process.

The book is an invaluable resource for students as well as practicing architects. It is richly illustrated with case studies showing both good and bad examples of inclusive design. A thought-provoking text arguing for a step change in attitude. It’s also a guide for practitioners on how to have constructive conversations with clients, and a learning resource for students. 

 

Downsizing: Is anyone interested?

A For Sale sign with a red roof over the lettering.Downsizing is not happening even if policy makers think it’s a good idea for older generations. This is the bottom line of the latest brief from AHURI. So, what is downsizing? First, this concept is mostly about home owners not renters. There is financial downsizing to release equity by buying a cheaper home. But only 20 per cent of owner-occupiers aged 55 to 64 years in 2001 moved to another home of lesser value by 2016 (this age cohort was the most likely to have ‘financially downsized’ during this 15 year period).

Physical downsizing is often seen as reducing the number of bedrooms, but this is a crude measure. This is because the number of bedrooms isn’t the issue. The size of all the rooms could be smaller, but it’s the size of the yard and maintenance that really matters to older people. Fewer than 15 per cent of older home-owners moved to another home with fewer bedrooms between 2001 and 2016. This latest research serves to confirm the key study by Bruce Judd and team where they found all bedrooms were in use. Also, older people spend more time at home, so it’s their space for recreation and activities

The title of the brief is, Understanding downsizing: What are the different types of downsizing and how common is it? There are references to other related AHURI research in this brief.

Editor’s comment: Government and the property industry might be keen to see older home owners move. However, the evidence is showing that the property industry might have to re-think their strategy of trying to entice people into their retirement villages by continuing to design and build homes so that people can’t age in place.  

 

Health and wellbeing by design

A young man is in the middle of a residential street. He looks like he is jumping or dancing.We shape our building and thereon, they shape us is an oft quoted Churchill saying. I wonder if he knew how much they also shape our health and well-being. Koen Steemers’ article on this topic outlines the definition of wellbeing and health and the implications for architecture. He also provides “rules of thumb” for design based on extensive research. Steemers acknowledges there is no one-size-fits all for healthy design. So the aim is to optimise every aspect wherever possible. It is interesting to note that he puts accessible housing into the list as a must. Architecture for well-being and health is a very comprehensive and readable guide for the built environment professions. 

Sydney Ideas Festival also covered this topic, Room for improvement:cities housing and health. 

“Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment. To a large extent, factors such as where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and our relationships with friends and family all have considerable impacts on health …” World Health Organization: The determinants of health.

 

Breakfast Toast Made Easy

one slice of toast sits on a small white place.How much design thought is needed to make the common pop-up toaster easier to use? An article by industrial designer Ayushi Suri gives us the answer in step by step detail. If you’ve ever wondered how designers go about their projects, this article shows the amount of work and detailed thinking that’s required. In this case Suri had a look at other designs for inspiration. They included fast trains! At the end of the article are pictures of an attractive prototype. I particularly liked the dial for selecting the level of browning. This kind of design is good for people with reduced dexterity and grip strength. It meets most of the 7 Principles of Universal Design – simple and intuitive to use, perceptible information, low physical effort and tolerance for error. 

 

Weaving for inclusion

A woman is in a power wheelchair. She is discussing with three other people.Being with, and watching users is the best way to understand how to design software. This is particularly important when focusing on making designs inclusive. A university in Scotland weaves concepts of inclusion and accessible design throughout students’ undergraduate degree gradually introducing them to more complex inclusive design factors. This model could be used in any design discipline. The difficult part is likely to be having teachers who are confident interacting with people with disability and able to support students as they interact with different user groups. The title of the article is “Weaving Accessibility Through an Undergraduate Degree” available from ResearchGate.  

From the conclusion:  “Across all years of our undergraduate programme, we support students to interact with a wide range of users, with a wide range of abilities. Students’ communication with the end users is important, to build confidence on both sides. Students engage with older adults first, as they can typically relate to them more easily and are encouraged to engage in a relaxed environment, e.g. only one note-taker is required. As students progress, they work with users with increasingly complex communication challenges. For students not familiar with disabilities, this can be a difficult experience, and so the communication is supported by teaching and research staff. Students may have personal perceptions of what they expect from this group, but as they build a relationship with the users these initial perceptions are adjusted. This gives our students motivation for the inclusion of accessibility in software development and we aspire for them to champion accessibility within industry and develop inclusive software as a result.”

Abstract: Globally, increasing numbers of people experience accessibility issues related to technology use. At the University of Dundee, we have developed a degree programme that aims to graduate socially-aware computing scientists who can develop for a range of access needs. To achieve this, we engage our students on a supported pathway of exploration, empathy and understanding. Students collaborate with user groups of older adults, adults with aphasia, and users of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). This practical experience leads to an understanding of the needs of the end-user and the need to develop for ‘people who are not like me’.  

Designing hospitals with dementia in mind

A long wide corridor with lots of confusing lines in a hospital. Need to design with dementia in mind.Most of us feel vulnerable in hospital environments. Usually it’s because of their size, lots of people, corridors and signs. For people with dementia and other cognitive conditions, this can be extra scary. A team of researchers in Ireland gathered the research on designing hospitals with dementia in mind and similar cognitive conditions. They’ve come up with key design themes which are expanded upon in their article:

    • Support engagement and participation
    • Provide a people-centred environment
    • Support patient safety, wellbeing, and health
    • Balance sensory stimulation
    • Support legibility, orientation and navigation’
    • Adequate space to support the particular needs of a person with a cognitive conditions. 
    • Space and supports for accompanying persons and staff

The title of the Cochrane Review article is, Hospital design for older people with cognitive impairment including dementia and delirium: supporting inpatients and accompanying persons. It’s by Grey, Fleming, Goodenough, XIdous, Mohler, and O’Neill.

From the abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of planning and design of hospitals, and to find out which approaches and features affect the health and wellbeing of older inpatients with cognitive condition such as dementia and delirium.

The study also assessed the effects of built environment interventions on accompanying persons. The focus was on any design feature that supports any person accompanying the patient in the hospital. The study also assessed the effects of built environment interventions on staff who are providing care to older patients with cognitive conditions. 

Universal design and dementia friendly hospitals

Front cover of the documentAcademic research and consumer input underpins this comprehensive guide to designing dementia-friendly hospitals from a universal design approach. The guide was developed in Ireland where they estimate almost one third of patients have dementia. Of course, dementia friendly design using a universal design approach is good and inclusive for everyone. The guidelines are available to read online using Issuu software. 

The short video below provides an overview of the design factors to consider in creating a dementia friendly hospital.

Dementia friendly hospitals: An in-depth study

A hosptial room with three empty beds. It looks very clinical and not dementia friendly. The design of the hospital environment can have an effect on people with dementia. That’s the finding of some new research carried out in hospitals where they interviewed patients and family members. 

The title of the article is, Dementia Friendly Hospital Design: Key Issues for Patients and Accompanying Persons in an Irish Acute Care Public Hospital  You will need institutional access for a free read. Or you can go to ResearchGate and ask for the full text. 

From the abstract

The findings are based on a stakeholder engagement process. The research team spent approximately 150 hours observing within the hospital, administered 95 questionnaires to patients and/or accompanying persons. Two structured interviews were carried out with patients and accompanying persons. 

This research confirms the negative impact of the acute hospital setting on older people with cognitive impairments including dementia and delirium. The research points to the value of understanding the lived experience of the person with dementia and accompanying persons. The voices of patients, particularly persons with dementia, are a crucial element in helping hospitals to fulfill their role as caregiving and healing facilities. 

Placemaking or Making Place?

A blue picture with swirling shapes as if under water.It’s time to move away from the word “placemaking” to “making place” and “making space”. This concept is discussed from an Indigenous Australian context in a book chapter titled, There’s No Place Like (Without) Country. Making place and making space allows for a view of spatial histories, claiming and reclaiming sites, and to uncover stories that are often overlooked in urban design practice. This is an academic text in,  Placemaking Fundamentals for the Built Environment, and you will need institutional access for a free read. It includes an example of the authors’ experience at the Sydney Olympic Park site. Sydney Olympic Park has documented some of the local Indigenous history.

Introduction: “In this chapter, we critique traditional placemaking approaches to site, through the Indigenous Australian concept of Country. We contest that a move away from the word ‘placemaking’ is overdue. We instead propose a practice of ‘making place’, and further ‘making space’ (i) that allows overlooked spatial (hi)stories to reclaim sites that they have always occupied, and (ii) for the very occupants and stories that are ordinarily overlooked in urban and spatial design practice. To do so is to accept that we must look to those marginal occupants, practices and writings that challenge the gendered, heteronormative, white, neuro-typical and colonising discourses that dominate architecture. Placemaking practices employ community consultation, privileging local stories and quotidian ways-of-being in response. It is our position, that even these ‘community-engaged’ processes perpetuate erasure and marginalisation precisely through their conceptualisations of ‘Site’ and what constitutes community. We present a model for an Indigenous/non-Indigenous collaboration that offers methods of spatially encountering site within a colonial context. We share our experiences of a project that we collaboratively produced in the Badu Mangroves at Sydney Olympic Park, to share the overlooked spatial histories and cultures of countless millennia. We have woven together Indigenous epistemologies, ontologies and axiologies, and design-as-research methodology.

See also Introduction: making Indigenous place in the Australian city from Post Colonial Studies journal.

Are you Diverse or Diversish?

A mosaic of many different faces and nationalitiesSometimes wry humour and satire is the way to get the message across. Sheri Byrne-Haber’s article You might be #Diversish if… explains what Diversish means. It’s a satirical term for businesses and organisations that call themselves diverse because they have a diversity policy. However, when you look at what they actually do, the policy is just collecting dust. So their claims lack authenticity. The article includes a British satirical video that really represents many of the business conversations around diversity. Funny but serious.