Healing Homes A search for the design of housing to foster wellbeing

Abstract

Europeans are approaching ageing and disability as a collective crisis in an era where the housing design is not child-friendly or promoting wellbeing, therefore what kind of homes should we design and build? Although housing typologies like carehomes, retirement homes, co- housing and intergenerational housing are being explored, they focus on aspects of wellbeing or do not include all people in design considerations, thus is incomplete. The position taken for this research is that architectural design of homes must go beyond building codes and preventing ill-health into one that considers all ages and abilities, and nudges towards wellbeing for a resilient future. The aim is to search for ‘how’ to design for wellbeing for all, to foster ageing in place, inclusivity and healthy living. The research is structured into six phases: desk research, surveys and interviews with architects and designers, design workshop and recommendations through an architectural design toolbox.

Keywords: Wellbeing, Housing, Architecture design