Case study 2

Case Study 2 - Cohousing

Below is the case study that we can adopt and learn from in order to design our collective living spaces for elderly. We can take a look at how this 'cohousing' system works.

Cohousing: A New Trend of Community Neighbourhood
There is a need for Singapore to explore more flexible types of public housing in order to adapt to the future requirements. Cohousing may provide an alternative option for different necessities of various user groups as mentioned earlier. It is defined as a clustering of smaller-than average residences to maximise shared open spaces for social interaction, with common facilities for shared daily use as well as non-hierarchical consensus-based resident management [3]. By looking into various successful case studies in Western Countries such as Denmark, Germany and Holland, in the longer term, these types of affordable and sustainable housing typologies have become more popular choices for smaller user groups to mark the beginning of their home ownership [4]. From a social point of view, this kind of resident management planning process under a non-hierarchical shared environment helps especially the elderly or disabled to live and work-in-place comfortably. The sense of place and belonging of ‘village’ community was created through shared social interaction [5].

Fig.1 Ostellolinda integrative housing, Milanno.  (Source: Informagiovani.net, 2010)

Fig.2 Permanent and temporary Cohousing for disabled people to live and work in a hostel and to act as hosts for guest. (Source: Aff.bstatic.com, 2011)

Looking back into the history of housing development in Singapore, there were similar community housing concepts to be found during the 1920s to 1980s – the Co-operative Housing.  As Singapore was facing housing problems during the time of rapid economic & social development as well as the increase of population after the war, the very first cooperative named the Singapore Government Officers Co-operative Housing Society Ltd was formed to assist the housing shortage from the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) [6]. Unfortunately, till the 1980s, most of the co-operative societies were shut down due to bad management and lack of knowledge and expertise. Having said that, the housing co-operative movement indeed has proven that strong community bonding and social interaction were formed within the neighbourhood during that time, such as the Teacher’s Estate located along Upper Thomson Road by the Singapore Teacher’s Union (STU) in 1967 [7]. Taking into consideration of the lifespan of the housing co-operatives in Singapore, it was not given enough time to mature and adapt to the changing demographics, in relation to the rapid economic and social development of the city. Therefore, this new housing typology could be an alternative solution to redefine the concept of communal living for future Singapore.


Reference:
http://www.asianurbanepicenters.com/?p=2969

Case study 1

Case Study in Singapore

Singapore government has executed several measures to create more elder-friendly houses for the aged over the last few years. Firstly, The government collaborates with the Housing Development Board (HDB) to add in various elder-friendly features into the sold flats. The features are grab bars installed in the bathroom and anti-slip floor tiles. As for the outdoor, installation of ramps which lead to blocks and to recreational facilities has been implemented for easy movement of the elderly.

http://www.mnd.gov.sg/BudgetDebate2012/Downloads.html

Secondly, the government has also provided the elderly with the option of living in HDB built Studio Apartments (SAs). HDB built Studio Apartments (SAs) are customised flats which are being integrated within existing public housing estates. SAs have elder-friendly features such as anti-slip floor tiles, lever taps, grab bars, emergency pull-cords and heat detectors which activate alarms.  

http://www.mnd.gov.sg/BudgetDebate2012/Downloads.html

The good points which can be taken from all these existing measures that the government has put to ensure the safety and comfort of the elderly in their own living spaces are the installation of elder-friendly features into the interior and exterior of elderly’s living spaces. However, the elder-friendly features that has been implemented by the government can still be improved by adding more varieties of elder-friendly features which will also cater to elderly’s eyesight problems and so on.

Reference:

http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/research/Chapter%203%20-%20Housing%20for%20Seniors.pdf

Chapter 1 Mindmap

Chapter 1 Mindmap

My group is given the topic called 'Collective Living Spaces'. In this chapter 1 mindmap, we define collective living spaces as a shared common space where two or more people who are either related or unrelated stay together. We further define the phrase 'stay together' as not necessarily living under the same house but more of enjoying one another's company by spending time and doing activities together; like sleeping, eating, playing, learning and so on. We also try to find out about the types of housing in Singapore to analyse whether we can possibly use those type of housings for creating our end solution. They are categorized as HDB flat, Public/Private Hybrids and Landed Property.

Our target audience is elderly aged 65 and above. We further categorize the elderly into healthy elderly, disabled/sick elderly, elderly with family but not staying together, elderly without family whether they are single or married. Then, we also search on existing collective living spaces for elderly. They are Old Folks' Home, Nursing Home and 'Group Homes' Concept.

Next, we brainstorm to find the problems the elderly will face when they are staying together in a collective living space. The problems are having no privacy, getting bullied, difficulty in separating rights and responsibility egually and so on.

This is our final chapter 1 mindmap.