Integrated living spaces for elderly individuals: Co-housing

Abstract

The proportion of the elderly population is gradually increasing due to reasons such as decreasing birth rates in the world, improving living standards and increasing average life expectancy with advances in medicine. Fast-paced life in cities, changes in family structure, and individualization of people under the influence of consumer culture cause elderly individuals to become lonely and move away from society. The study aims to reveal the relationship between co-housing, which has become one of the alternative lifestyles with the influence of the increasing consumption phenomenon/culture with changing lifestyles, and the continued coexistence of elderly individuals with society. Within the scope of the quantitative research, five different examples of co-housing built for the elderly, which are expected to stand out in terms of design in the 21st century, were examined specifically in the context of the Ball Model, a new living model for the elderly realized at the TTS (Work Efficiency Institute) Institute, and the structures were examined. Spatial analyzes were made. As a result of the study, by comparing the features of the buildings in line with the findings of the analyses, it was emphasized that such designs would prevent the increasing number of elderly people in the world from becoming isolated and facilitate their participation in society, should be developed and increased in sociological, psychological, architectural and economic terms. © 2024, Nilay OZSAVAS ULUCAY. All rights reserved.