Physical Appearance Assessment and Accommodation Planning for the Elderly in the Project Case Studies of Residential Condominiums for the Elderly

Abstract

Nowadays in Thailand, the situation of elderly already became to aging society. Which make us concern about the places where can support and get close to the elderly. From the study about accommodations for elderly people, it was found that there are 4 types: Non-dependent, Semi-dependent, Dependent, and End of Life. Mostly, will focus on development of Non-dependent (Independent Living: IL) project. Which can support the dependence of elderly for a while. And the problem is when the elderly enter the next dependent state more. The elderly in that project need to find out the new place or modify the environment around the original area to support them. That point of view is becoming to this study. The objectives of this study were to learn about the current environment and future housing planning of the elderly to find a way to solve the limitations of the environment to get in line with the current dependency. Also, find the way to develop housing of elderly in the future to fit with Thai elderly. The group of examples will come from the elderly who lives in the project, people involved in the project and specialists in the field come to a recommendation conclusion. To collect information, we will keep record from questionnaires, surveys and in-depth interviews in five cases studies for this research project.

            To conclude, the research shown that most samples had a problem with the current environment, and limitation of use. Each case study has different problem of usage limitation. But the same problem that we found in this project is about doormats, storage space/shoes, and the division of wet and dry areas in the bathroom. Therefore, it recommends the guidelines for adjusting the environment from professionals, according to the universal design concept and related requirements or standards. Preliminary housing planning revealed that most of the elderly planned to live within the original area. If they have to depend more in the future, they are likely to change from living in the same place to moving out more. In the view of entrepreneurs, most of the opinion that the development of housing for the elderly in the future should be in the same project to be able to provide comprehensive and continuous care for the elderly.