A Study On Adaptive Design Of Elderly Facilities

Elderly facilities act a very important role in the system of elderly care service. China is now going through a fast construction period of elderly facilities as the number of aging population is rising quickly these years. However, much of the now constructing elderly facilities are design for self-care elderly people, ignoring the need of nursing-care elderly, who should be the main target customer of elderly facilities. These elderly facilities could hardly meet the need for care service as the very old population would continue rising in the following decades.Therefore, the author tries to study on the adaptive design method for independent living facilities being able to transfer to nursing facilities. Through document and field research, the author make comparison between different types of long-term care elderly facilities, and analysis their differences in unit type, public space and service space. Focusing on the typical floor, the article put forward some key points of adaptive design for elderly facilities.First, the article summarizes the difference of space arrangement in American and Japanese independent and nursing elderly facilities, as well as their adaptive design methods.Then, based on the research of different types of elderly facilities in China, the author sums up the different need for space between self-care and nursing-care elderly people.Afterwards, the author analyses the ability change of daily activities and the need for care service as age increases, proposing the critical need which should be met through adaptive design.In the conclusion part, the author gives the adaptive design suggestions on plan shape, structure, plumbing, elevator arrangement as well as the dwelling units, public space and service space. Finally, the key points are applied in the design of an independent living facilities. The possibilities for it to be adapted to a nursing facility are also discussed in this part.