A study on architectural planning of fee-charging homes for the aged

an attempt to sort out typical types

Abstract

A fee-charging homes for the aged can be considered as a high quality collective housing for elders provided with various services. In planning such homes, however, managemental aspects have been assumed more important than architectural aspects. With little accumulation of planning, there are various problems and inconveniences that have to be urgently solved. The question of expensive fees remains, but as far as high qualities of facilities, equipments, services and positive attitude of dwellers are concerned, such homes can provide a model for consideration of an ideal housing for the aged in general. This study, considered as a fundamental stage, tries to sort types of facilities according to similarity in order to clarify guide lines for a future research. Through analysis of existing statistical data as well as of actual surveys, facilities were grouped into following eight different types. ⓐA home accompanied with a hospital where nursing care is given serious consideration. ⓑA home which gives nursing care but with an extra charge. ⓒA large-scale fully equipped facility with a medical care system ready to cope with any necessary cases. ⓓA home with a hospital but facilities for better life are considered more important than nursing care system. ⓔA home which considers self-reliant lives more highly than a medical care system. ⓕAn old small-scale home which is less expensive but facilities and services are far from sufficient.ⓖA medium-level home with a life-long guarantee system. ⓗ A home exclusively with nursing care. Of these, the types that can be identified as typical are as following; ⓐA home with a hospital with a nursing care system ⓒA large-scale complex type ⓔhome with more attention to daily livesⓗA home exclusively with nursing care Induces of the analysis were set as following: ①Size of the facility②Principle policy of management (degrees of importance of a daily life, for example)③ Existence of an adjoined hospital ④Exclusiveness of nursing care. These are important factors that may determine objectives of architectural planning and that must be examined carefully. We have changed our original plan of the study and decided to leave the survey of life styles and philosophy of dwellers for future research.