In the AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey, leading residential architecture firms provided their vision for the next 10 years in terms of home layout; features, systems, and products; neighborhood and community design; and kitchens and baths. The key trends that they identified are the growing popularity of universal design; increased attention to a healthy living environment; infill development and its focus on improved design; and the growing popularity of kitchens as the focus of household activities.
These tips from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects can help urban planners and policy makers understand how to design a city to be better able to support people’s independence and well-being as they age. The tips cover areas like public spaces, streets, neighborhood development, buildings and residential units.
In 2011, the American Institute of Architect’s Design for Aging Knowledge Community conducted its eleventh biennial Design for Aging Review design competition (DFAR11). This report on the DFAR11 describes the changing landscape of today’s senior living industry and demonstrates how the unique and innovative features of the award-winning facilities can serve as a bench mark for others working in the field of senior living.
Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation.
