The purpose of this study is to gather knowledge about sustainable residential environments for independent elderly settlers via an examination of a residential area that changed into a town for senior citizens and that has bilateral character of villa and settlement, by analyzing the lifestyle activities of resident couples from various viewpoints.
In Part 3, we investigate the lifestyle activities of independent elderly couples at the residential areas from an examination of their housing and lifestyle activities. The living style targeted in this paper is defined as the living conditions formed by three aspects: people, space, and activities. Specifically, “people” refer to the elderly couples, space is the villa (which is blessed with an abundance of nature), and activities are the lifestyle activities enjoyed in the dwelling unit.
This study was able to clarify the following:
1. Most of the seniors' life activities, except for sleep and some hobbies, are spent in spacious living-dining-kitchen (LDK) rooms and on the villa terrace, which can be used as an extension to indoor living. While their primary living space is the “LDK”, they often create hobby rooms as secondary locations where they can fulfill self-realization goals.
2. The time allocations of couples (except for sleep and meals) differ for each person, with husbands spending significantly less time for housework and much more for hobbies and relaxation. In contrast, their wives' time tends to be equally divided among housework, relaxation, and hobby activities. Thus, while dining together sets the life rhythm of their days, hobbies and relaxation times are enjoyed separately, even though they will also share some household chores. Thus, couples tend to balance their married life between private and shared time.
3. It can be said that simple, compact, and open villas provide suitable housing for elderly people, because they offer the small number of functions required by couples, ease of maintenance, and the ability to accommodate lifestyle changes. Living spaces are harmonized by an open living and dining room (LD) and a spacious terrace, which provide a common venue for individuals, couples, and guests to socialize. Thus, it can be said that their lives are stably balanced by appropriate levels of privacy and communication with others. The authors have named this “harmonized life”.
4. Looking at independent elderly couples from the viewpoint of “silver stage” (age level), we find they can be divided into three level: the zero to second stage (55 to 69 years old), the third stage (70 to 74 years old), and the fourth to fifth stage (more than 75 years old). People of the zero to second stage are full of energy and enjoy active life-centered hobbies, while the third stage is the period of transition from active to tranquil lifestyles and hobbies, and reflects their declining power. Persons in the fourth to fifth stages lead mostly placid lifestyles, with less time spent in hobbies due to their decreasing strength.
