A descriptive roadmap: how to design for SWB? Interpreting design results in the field of subjective well-being

Abstract

Today’s public discourse on the design of care centers for the elderly population is increasingly emphasizing the importance of subjective well-being (SWB) and the value that architecture and interior architecture can have in this context. A design exercise was formulated for 10 groups of 4 master students in interior architecture in which they had to rethink the design of the communal space system of an existing residential care center (RCC) with the purpose of augmenting the living experience and SWB of the residents and adding potential value for the neighborhood. This design exercise was developed from the dual perspective of (i) developing spatial solutions for improving the positive experience and perceived housing quality of elderly in residential care, and (ii) designing architectural spaces based on ethnographic research performed by the student-designers themselves. The design outcomes of the design exercise and the different steps taken to work out a particular design can also be interpreted as research data as such, and can be analyzed methodologically and architecturally to detect valuable information on how to design for SWB. A design roadmap is assembled from the data of this design exercise by analyzing the sequential stages that students ran through and the design strategies they adopted. This is a first step in developing a design tool for (interior) architects to handle SWB-design challenges.