Environments for Aging - Fall 2016 - 26

QUOTE

EFAmagazine.com * Fall 2016

KEYNOTE PANEL

"The Community's
Response to Successful
Aging"
Whether it's in answer to baby boomers'
demands for new alternatives, the need
for more affordable housing options, or
regulatory changes that influence where
people can live, the search for the senior
living model of the future is underway.
"I see the right housing not as a place
to hang your hat or get better, but as a
place that will keep you well," said Ryan
Frederick, founder and principal of Point
Forward Solutions and founder and CEO
of Smart Living 360.
Frederick was joined in a panel discussion by Gail Kohn, coordinator for
Age-Friendly DC, and Sandra Harris, a
principal at S. Harris Interiors, to share
ideas on how the industry might get
there.
Frederick challenged the audience to
use EFA as a platform to take the next
step. "We need to mobilize our networks
and show what's possible and why it's
important," he said.
For example, Frederick, who temporarily moved into a retirement community
at age 29 to experience senior living
firsthand, says a new era of longevity
and active lifestyles is demanding housing options that are fundamentally different from traditional models that relocate
seniors from their neighborhoods to
more isolated communities, where they
can lose their sense of autonomy.

For example, building elements such
as doorknobs and handrails-the first
things a resident might touch-can
speak volumes, so it's important to
assess materials used, locations, etc.,
and how they might be experienced by a
resident with limited vision. They're "like
a handshake with the building. You can
learn a lot from a handshake."
Additionally, Downey stressed the
need to create multisensory environments to avoid inadvertently creating
barriers. "Design can maximize or
minimize visual function," he said. "Bad
design can be blinding." As a starting
point, Downey recommended the use of
low-glare and contrasting materials to
make environments less challenging to
navigate.
Designers have the power to potentially liberate seniors by better understanding residents' experiences. To
achieve that, research-from postoccupancy evaluations to interviews-
plays a vital role in helping designers
understand the user experience.
Downey also reminded attendees that
designing for the aging eye isn't just
about full sight loss: "Only 6-8 percent
of people have full sight loss. Most
are low vision, which is actually more
challenging. That's who we should be
designing for," he said.
"The space around us is communicated in so many different ways-how we
hear the space, how we feel the space.
It all contributes to that really qualitative,
wonderful, delightful experience," he
added. "People with disabilities aren't
handicapped until barriers are put in
their way."-Shandi Matambanadzo

Your
environment
can be a
liability to your
organization or
an asset. We
found many
assets here.

-Migette Kaup, professor
at Kansas State University,
Center on Aging, regarding
Buckner Villas in Austin,
Texas. Kaup and Amy
Carpenter, associate with
SFCS, presented detailed
findings from a SAGE postoccupancy evaluation of
the new memory care unit
at Buckner Villas during a
session at the EFA Expo.
Buckner Villas was also
one of the tours available
to attendees. For more
on the POE findings, see
EFAmagazine.com/bucknerPOE; for more on the tour,
go to EFAmagazine.com/
buckner-tour.

http://www.EFAmagazine.com/buckner-poe http://www.EFAmagazine.com/buckner-poe http://www.EFAmagazine.com/buckner-tour http://www.EFAmagazine.com/buckner-tour http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Fall 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Environments for Aging - Fall 2016