The global population is steadily aging, with the median global age set to rise from 29 to 36 over the next 40 years.
Currently the proportion of Europeans over the age of 60 is almost a quarter, with this number only expected to increase. Older people today are healthier, wealthier, and more active than in the past, making them a huge resource that countries must not waste. The market is growing, as nations are greying faster.
Within this growing proportion of the population comes the challenge for how to house them, with traditional aged care models often not meeting the needs of the aging population. New models are being created such as elderly apartments and care hotels that offer either private or assisted living conditions while still retaining a sense of independence.
Seniors housing is designed specifically with an elderly resident in mind, either as single apartments or combined to allow for communal living areas. These facilities offer unassisted living conditions while still providing health monitoring and often include medical facilities on site. Care hotels offer a similar arrangement with more services being provided by the facility, such as meals, wellness treatments and entertainment for the residents. These services are offered at a premium to other types of independent living. Short stay medical and dementia care facilities are another model of aged care and offer accommodation that is specifically designed to help with the care of patients with dementia or other patients that require high levels of care.
The aged care market is shifting with a desire to down size their accommodation while still retaining a high standard of living, where retirees are willing to pay a premium for services, location, and design. This generation of retirees are more likely to live closer to urban centres, providing proximity to cultural, retail and wellness facilities along with a greater access to a range of health care services. Seniors housing represent a growing market that has the possibility of being integrated into other developments, creating mixed-use programs at an increased density to what is typical for traditional aged care.
What follows is a collection of some of the best international examples of seniors housing. These case studied range in size from 21 to 168 residents and have been designed in different models with a variety of considerations for their residents. They highlight contemporary design strategies and methods for designing and managing seniors housing facilities.