Appropriating space in an assisted living residence: On architecture and elderly frail people's spatial use

Abstract

An assisted living residence with identical layout for two non-special care units (NSCU) and two special care units (SCU), designated as an exemplary model, was used as a test bed for this study on elderly people's spatial appropriation of communal space. Using qualitative research methods (interviews, participatory observations, TESS-NH), eighteen residents' spatial usages were mapped. Thereafter, ten residents with dominantly somatic diseases were interviewed as to their appreciation and use of the communal space. Using the same qualitative interviewing guide, three staff members were interviewed in relation to eight persons with dementia. The collected data was analyzed by use of the Lynchean imageability pentad. Depending on the residents' agerelated problem and the specific conditions in situ, the elderly persons' spatial usages of the individual unit could be described graphically in a mental map. A place-making process was the motivating force behind this spatial appropriation, conditioned by age-related problems. At the NSCUs, the elderly spurred this process themselves by developing a pattern consisting of movements towards places open for activities, contact andsocial interaction. On the other hand, at the SCUs, the dementia diagnosis affected this pattern. At these units, the movements and the places depended upon the elderly person's dependency on the staff for self-affirmation and calm. The overarching conclusion of this study is that an appropriate architectural space for an assisted living residence reinforces the place-making process, either the one of the elderly frail people, or the one staged by the staff. Besides general requirements of accessibility, functionality, and usability, this type of architecture needs to employ spatial elements that constitute a communal space that fosters an appropriative process based on the sensuous stimulation exploitable at a particular place. Thus, architecture acquires a supportive quality that nourishes the perceived homeliness by the elderly people themselves, or as staged by the staff.