Countries across the globe are grappling with a challenge that universally impacts all members of society – how to adapt to caring for an ageing population. Thanks to advancements in healthcare, we are lucky to be seeing life expectancies rise to an all-time high, which means our current systems and facilities for supporting the elderly are in urgent need of adaptation to ensure everyone can enjoy the senior years of their lives.
Feeling the pressures of change more than most sectors, is healthcare, and the housing providers of extra care facilities, as the ageing population places increasing demand on their services. Extra care facilities are a beacon of light for people who have outgrown their private homes and require special support for their care needs, finding new homes in residences alongside peers with similar needs. These spaces are cherished by residents who have found community in their specially designed accommodations, but building enough of these facilities is a challenge for housing developers across the UK.
Drawing on experience developing specialist housing development, The Elms, Mura Mullan, Director at JDDK Architects explores how a collaborative approach to delivering extra care housing developments means that architects can work closely with housing developers and other partners to ensure the design of extra care accommodation helps residents live life to the fullest.
The Elms, Chester-le-Street
The Elms is a specialist housing development for the over 55’s in Chester-le-Street which has been widely praised as an example of best practice in its field.
The £6.5m scheme for Cestria Housing, now part of the ISOS Group, and ran by Karbon Homes, consists of 52 apartments and six bungalows, for rent, sale and shared ownership, all designed specifically for people aged 55 and over who require support with their care or housing. These spaces are where residents will likely live for the rest of their lives or until their care needs change. Changing needs are a huge challenge for the providers, as they have to carefully manage the process of changing living spaces in line with changing care needs, which can be challenge for residents facing sudden change.
We delivered the project with user enjoyment in mind, making the highly popular living spaces a joy for residents. Dementia units on the ground floor are joined together by one of the two internal courtyards. These dementia unit apartments are designed to M1 regulations that ensure accessibility with adjustable furniture that can move to heights that fit the needs of the residents. The independent apartments each feature a living space, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and hallway, with two access points – one linked to the main building and another private access point that supports independence. The layout is designed to have no dead-ends, removing any element of challenge for residents with easy wayfinding.
With a sense of independence created through the living spaces, we have an equal aim of creating a sense of community amongst the residents and local area. A range of social spaces are integrated into the design, including gardens that feature raised planting beds so residents can garden together, a restaurant and cafe, a salon, a medical treatment room, and activity rooms for use by the residents and local community groups who use the space to host meetings and workshops.
The shared spaces facilitate dynamic community relationships, and the result is a lively home where the public integrate with residents to give a sense of normalcy and community. Years after construction of The Elms was complete, the site foreman still visits every Friday for fish and chips with the residents at the restaurant.
Principles of good design
The Elms was designed in response to the recommendations set out in the government’s 2009 HAPPI (Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation) Report, which aims to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle for people aged 55 and over.
In essence, the HAPPI Report sets out 10 basic design principles for housing for aged persons which we incorporated in The Elms.
· Space and flexibility
· Daylight in the home and in shared spaces
· Balconies and outdoor space
· Adaptability and ‘care ready’ design
· Positive use of circulation space
· Shared facilities and ‘hubs’
· Plants, trees, and the natural environment
· Energy efficiency and sustainable design
· Storage for belongings and bicycles
· External shared surfaces and ‘home zones’
The scheme includes elements of flexibility for residents in anticipation of their needs changing over time. The internal layouts therefore take into account the differing levels of dependency the residents will encounter and are flexible enough for people to stay in their homes for as long as possible.
At the time of the project completion, Kevin McGeough, then the Head of Corporate Strategy at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), commented, “The Elms has set a benchmark for high quality extra care in the northeast. HCA are delighted that our Care and Support Specialised Housing fund has helped Cestria to deliver this excellent project. We have been particularly impressed by the developers understanding of the HAPPI principles which are clearly evident in the scheme.”
All project requirements are different by nature, but The Elms acts as an example of how we are working to enhance the standard for delivery of extra care accommodation that improves residents’ lives, and we apply this thinking to all projects we work on with our social housing clients, to deliver the very best quality of new build and refurbished extra care accommodations.
To hear more from Mura, watch this video or read our latest edition of Millmount News here [link].