Ageing well in place: associating functional and affective dimensions of older people’s home

Abstract

In front of the challenges that are brought about by the ageing of our population, it is a responsibility to all stakeholders in the field of architecture to consider today our housing of tomorrow. This article, focused on the topic of ageing in place and more specifically on housing adjustments favoring this process, attempts to clarify and assemble the existing literature, considering the topic at hand from three complementary viewpoints: the functional, the affective and the temporal dimension of feeling “at home”. First, the functional dimension, which is closely linked to the architectural field, looks at different scales of housing interventions. Next, the affective dimension of the habitat is studied through the lenses of home and subjective well-being. These lenses enable us to assert the need to combine both the functional and affective dimensions of home in order to promote ageing well in place. Finally, the temporal dimension of the architectural intervention is discussed, in order to position these theoretical models while taking into account the constantly evolving context.