Project description
Building better architecture for older citizens
The population is getting older. The greying of Europe is the most dramatic demographic and social challenge of the 21st century. One key concern is the quality of life in old age. The availability and affordability of secure and comfortable housing, as well as infrastructure and services for the elderly will be crucial to ensure decent living conditions for the elderly. The EU-funded IDR TOOLKIT will assist stakeholders to design and certify accessible, inclusive dwellings. It will develop an inclusive design rating (IDR) toolkit to assist professionals assess the accessibility, usability and fitness for purpose of dwellings. It will also raise public awareness so individuals can make informed decisions about how best to adapt their home.
Objective
Europe is ageing and the changing needs of the population are constantly shaping the way we live and interact in communities and environments.
Accessibility, sustainability and inclusivity are now prominent keywords that are driving the design of products and of the built environment.
The United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the European Commission (through the H2020 Programme) have supported the idea that accessible solutions for improving environments can effectively support well-being & socialisation of all members of society.
Despite the proliferation of guidelines, design approaches and regulations, there is still a significant gap in the current awareness among the general public, of accessible, inclusive designed buildings that has yet to be covered.
This proposal, will contribute to filling this gap by developing an Inclusive Design Rating (IDR) Toolkit that will enable stakeholders to design and certify accessible, inclusive dwellings.
The project will be deployed through a framework for analysing the stakeholders’ point of view that will be used to co-design a certification toolkit for assessing inclusive, smart age-friendly environments. This IDR Toolkit will be used by professionals to assess the accessibility, usability and fitness for purpose of dwellings and by individuals to enable them to make decisions about how best to adapt their home to their specific needs.
The research will be carried out at University of Cambridge by using the Inclusive Design and the Quality Function Deployment approaches which enable the constant involvement of stakeholders in the co-design process, avoiding a top-down approach.
The project will have impact by increasing awareness of inclusive dwellings with a scientifically validated methodology for designing, re-designing and assessing environments suitable for the changing needs of a growing ageing population and by communicating that knowledge to a wide audience in a striking, accessible way.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
CB2 1TN Cambridge
United Kingdom