What is it about?
In Europe we can see a change in the social structure in the last period. Average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 50 years. Because of the improved life situation and advanced level of health care, older people are slower. With advancing age, the likelihood of experiencing a variety of constraints such as visual impairment, reduced hearing or physical ability increases. In such a life stage tenants are often forced to leave their long-term living space because these homes can not serve "new" individual needs and the resulting personal protection goal. This transition from the privacy of their home to the new environment often appears to be a painful change. They will take their familiar and well-known surroundings, because their homes can not be adapted to serve new needs. It must be the policy’s role to create a new inclusive social space and the requirement for architects and designers to create new goals for the design of an adaptable environment. This is a comprehensive approach to the design of the outer and inner space that could serve people even if there is an unexpected situation and changes in movement and physiological limitations of older people. The contribution shows the results of the survey conducted in Germany and Slovakia. In the survey respondents expressed their opinion on what they considered important in creating an adaptive environment. Results are processed graphically with explanation. The results were mainly for designers and developers of the indoor environment. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey, studies of possible modifications in the interior of the flats were then prepared. The contribution yielded these results in three age groups of respondents; i. people aged 35, 50 and over 50.
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Why is it important?
It is important that the survey highlights the importance of housing in European society. It is clear that the house is more than protection against climatic conditions and individual retreats for people and families. The way of living has changed in Europe. In most EU countries, it is necessary to anticipate barrier-free when designing the home or working environment. [5] Moving home is a crucial step in gaining personal independence. People tend to get involved in designing their first home many times before it finally becomes reality. We anticipate the different needs and desires that we then have to adapt, given the hard constraints of space and money. We have to get rid of our "personal style".
Perspectives
Similar principles apply to interior design. If possible, we will inform you in other articles about the possibility of realizing the flexibility of the ground plan, the design of the flats for the barrier-free apartment type and will be explained in the examples below. In addition to suggestions for people with impaired movement, consideration should be given to suggestions for individuals with sensory abnormalities. The approach described in the rules is the principle of two senses. In addition to visual cognition (tactile), tactile (touching) and auditory (hearing) knowledge is also used. The two-sided principle says that if two of the three senses are solved in the building, it is considered as barrier-free for 90% of all users. In the future, it will be possible to activate the building, meaning that buildings will be able to communicate with people using digital information to understand the barriers present. The aim is to enable all individuals to use their living space without difficulty and, most importantly, without external assistance, by incorporating a barrier-free design.
prof. Dušan Katunský
Technical University of Kosice
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Environmental Issues Related to the Elderly and Physically Disabled People in Different Life Situations , July 2018, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.20944/preprints201807.0282.v1.
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