Concept Tensions/Emotive Response

Motivated by experiences of my Papa's care home, the project aims to provide a better lived experience for the elderly.

Symbolising societal attitudes towards aging, the existing care home interior institutionalises residents through a sense of confinement from the outside world. Removal from social, mental and sensory stimulants is detrimental to the sense of self and well-being of those confined indoors, and experiencing anxieties of moving into unfamiliar surroundings.

Personal and societal emotive perceptions of the care home;

- Institutionalisation results in the elderly feeling resistance to the care environment, fears of becoming cut off from loved ones and the homes they have built over a lifetime

- Guilt felt by loved ones, the difficulty of visiting for a sustained time, and the monotony of residents routine

- Residents lack of independence and autonomy of time/activity

- Associations with the care home as an end to life

Spatial problems of the contemporary care home;

- Anonymity of the interior devalues the identity of residents and is suggestive of temporality

- Clinical, oppressive atmosphere

- Stale air

- Synthetic lighting, colour and material palettes

- Homogeneous corridors detract from feelings of home and spatial orientation

Understanding the spatial problems and anxieties related to the existing care home aids in applying solutions to deinstitutionalise the interior, providing hope and comfort for the Caring Home community.