A Study Of The Interactivity In Senior Apartment Landscape Design

As China ushers in an aging society,senior housing issues have become increasingly problem.Senior apartments which have gained rapid development over recent years become a good option for senior citizens to well spend their golden years.Given its less-advanced development,more emphasis on construction of visual and utility functions has been placed by the prevailing landscape design for senior apartments in China,such as color composition,spatial forms,material arrangements and functional layout,etc.,while senior people's experience and perception of landscapes are often neglected.In the face of these landscapes,senior citizens are often spectators looking from an appreciator's point of view who are unable to engage themselves in active and close conversations and interactions with the surrounding environment,undermining the positive effect that outdoor environment is expected to have on improving the seniors' life quality.Therefore,with this as an entry point,it is of certain practical significance to study the application of interactivity in landscape environment of senior apartments in order to provide senior citizens with more comfortable,convenient and human-oriented residential landscape environment.Following an approach of “theoretical study-field survey – problem identification – problem solving”,this paper carries out an in-depth discussion on the said topic: with a consideration of relevant basic concepts of interactivity in landscape,this paper discusses the role of interaction in landscape design,as well as the objectives for creating interactivity in landscapes of residential area;generalizes and summarizes the physical,psychological and behavioral characteristics of senior citizens,in combination with field surveys,to demonstrate the necessity of incorporating interactivity into landscape design of senior apartments.By examining the three interactive modes between senior citizens and landscapes,the paper further summarizes the design principles and construction approaches under the concept of interactivity;on this basis,discusses the techniques and key points in applying interactivity in a variety of spaces and elements of senior apartment landscapes.Based on the theories derived from this study,a concept landscape design for Fushou Senior Apartment is carried out,fulfilling a close and concrete integration between theory and practice.The interactivity discussed in this paper involves two aspects: first,“interaction” is recognized as a purpose,that is,to facilitate man-man and man-landscape interactions through certain approaches of landscape design,thereby promoting the addressing of existing problems with senior apartment landscapes;second,“interaction” is regarded as a means to optimize the livability of the landscape environments senior apartments(that is,to optimize senior citizens' activity experience in outdoor environments through certain landscape interactive design techniques).