Damian Utton,

Partner

POZZONI LLP Architects

Designing

Homes for

Older People

• Different types of housing for

older people

• Design principles

• Current and future trends

Different Types of Housing

for Older People

• Typically self contained

dwellings for physically and

mentally active older people who wish to live in a ‘sheltered’

environment

• There may be a warden on site and sometimes shared

communal facilities

• Care is brought to individuals

as required on a visiting basis

• Planning use class: C3: dwellings

• For people who need assistance

with everyday tasks

• This is sub-divided into:

o Residential care

o Nursing Care

o Dementia Care

o Intermediate Care o Respite Care

o Day Care

• En-suite bedrooms arranged in self-contained households

• Planning use class:

C2: Residential Institutional

• Also known as assisted living

• Self-contained homes with design

and support features to enable self-

care and independent living

• Commonly apartments accessed

from a communal corridor in a

single building

• Shared communal facilities and 24

hour care staff on site

• Care is brought to the residents as needed and the building is

adaptable to change

• Planning use class: ‘sui-generis’

• Can be a development large

enough to sustain its own

community

• When different levels of care are

combined into a single facility

the term ‘Continuing Care

Retirement Community’ (CCRC) is often used

• Planning use class can be a

combination of or just C2 / C3 /

sui-generis

Design Principles

Create a ‘home’

• Older people are sensitive to their

surroundings

• The design of the built environment can have a significant impact on older

people

• Design should create an enabling

environment that gives people

independence, choice, maintain their

lifestyle and contact with the wider

community

• Design should compensate for the

impairments of old age:

o Impaired mobility

o Impaired vision

o Impaired hearing

o Dementia

o Sensitivity to changes in temperature

• Design should facilitate the efficient delivery of care and enhance the

quality of life for the residents

• Design should balance commercial issues of construction and operating

costs with a domestic lifestyle

• Housing LIN website

(www.housinglin.org.uk)

• Happi and Happi2 Report

• National Planning Policy

Framework

• Lifetime Homes Lifetime

Neighbourhoods

• Housing Standards Review

• Space standards and flexibility

• Daylight

• Natural light and ventilation

• Adaptability – ‘care ready’

• Positive use of circulation space

• Community hub

• External space inc. shared surfaces

• Sustainability

• Adequate storage

• Community Resource – ‘Hub’

• Community Integration

• Accessibility

• Social Inclusion

• Security

• Progressive Privacy

• Space standards

• Communal areas

• Flexibility / adaptability

• Positive use of circulation

space

• Storage

• Mixed tenure

• Natural light and ventilation

• Dual aspect

• Large windows but avoid solar gain

• Cross ventilation

• Passive stack ventilation

• Energy efficiency

• Air tightness

• Maintenance

• Gardens and balconies

• Accessibility

• Activity

• Stimulation

• Shared surfaces

• Flexibility and adaptability

• Assistive Technology

• Flood

• Staff call

• Falls/Movement

• Reminder

• Monitoring

• Staff / management strategy

• Fire Strategy

• Operational / maintenance costs

• Scooter store

• Multi-use spaces

• Ancillary facilities

• Kitchen

• Laundry

• Refuse

• Storage

Current and Future Trends

• Extra care schemes as community hubs

• Extra care as part of a continuing care

development

• Extra care as a component in regeneration

• Site specific

• Community focused

• Larger

• Often mixed tenures

• Higher levels of care requirements

• Location often key

• Often a component in urban

regeneration

• Daycare centre

• Links with adjacent

school

• PCT office

• Home-care office

• Housing office

• Bistro open to public

• Themed gardens

• ‘Village Hall’

Owner: Arena Housing Association Limited Architect: Pozzoni

Owner: Arena Housing Association Limited Architect: Pozzoni

Owner: Arena Housing Association Limited Architect: Pozzoni

Owner: Trident Charitable Housing Association Architect: Glancy Nicholls

Owner: Trident Charitable Housing Association Architect: Glancy Nicholls

Owner: Trident Charitable Housing Association Architect: Glancy Nicholls

Owner: St. Monica Trust Architect: KWL

• 108 independent living and extra care apartments

• 30 resident nursing with

care home

• 73 resident nursing with dementia care home

• Communal facilities

Owner: St. Monica Trust Architect: KWL

Owner: St. Monica Trust Architect: KWL

• 26 one and two bedroom

extra care apartments

• 72 care bedrooms

• Communal facilities

Owner: Belong / CLS Care Services Architect: Pozzoni

Owner: Belong / CLS Care Services Architect: Pozzoni

Owner: Belong / CLS Care Services Architect: Pozzoni

Damian Utton

Partner

Pozzoni LLP Architects

www.pozzoni.co.uk