QUALITY OF LIVING IN OLD AGE “Moving into a care facility is a deep cut in the lives of people in need of care and their relatives. In addition to health impairments, it is usually accompanied by the fear of losing the familiar surroundings that have long been a home to those affected, which meant safety, security and familiarity.
and acoustic stimuli of their environment. The targe - ted use of light, colour and materials can compensate for declining sensory performance and provide a sti - mulating living and working environment for residents and carers. Textiles make a significant contribution to a homely and variable atmosphere and a feeling of security in both communal areas and private rooms. Textile floor coverings, furniture coverings, room dividers, wall and ceiling coverings improve the room acoustics and set invigorating and striking accents in the colour con- cept; curtains and light sheers in floral designs and fresh colours also regulate the incidence of daylight and visual contact with the outside. In addition to the design aspects of the fabrics, home operators and caregivers also appreciate their easy- care hygienic, antibacterial and air-cleaning functio- nalities. For the residents, decorative fabrics are above all normality: familiar and popular design elements of a familiar home environment.”
Institutional-looking, hospital-like architecture has long reinforced these fears of loss and helped shape a negative image of care facilities. The classic two-bay home with long corridors, large nursing wards, double rooms and dining halls is a discontinued model that neither meets the demands of very old residents and their relatives, nor does it do justice to the growing proportion of people with dementia. However, the care landscape has changed. Today, nur - sing and architectural concepts are more individually and holistically oriented towards people in need of care. With small-scale architecture and manageab- le living groups, nursing homes are increasingly de - veloping from institutional health care buildings into attractive, residential neighbourhood offers. The benefits of sensitive and careful interior design are also increasingly being taken into account in nur- sing home planning. People with care needs and de - mentia are receptive for a long time to visual, haptic
Gudrun Kaiser, August 2021
Gudrun Kaiser is a qualified architect with many years of experience in the concept development and planning of residential and care properties for older people in new buildings, existing buildings and neigh - bourhood contexts. In addition to her architectural consultancy experience, she has sound specialist knowledge in the areas of accessibility, gerontology, care and social planning.
Gudrun Kaiser Dipl.-Ing. Architect
WIA – Wohnqualität im Alter www.gudrun-kaiser-wia.de
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