Household Design: A Look at the Evidence Base

By Bob Lagoyda

An international case study on the household design was featured at the recent U.S. LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The session was given by Howard Johnson, President & CEO, Baptist Housing Ministries Society, located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, along with two architects: Leslie Moldow, Managing Principal at Perkins Eastman, housed at their San Francisco offices in California, United States, along with Patrick Cotter, Partner, ZGF Cotter Architects, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Based on research from Simon Fraser University (SFU) the session explored the household/neighborhood design model in senior living environments. Undertaken by SFU’s Gerontology Research Centre, the longitudinal study evaluated if the housing model of care used on the award-winning The Heights at Mt View project contributed to positive outcomes for residents, staff and family members. The study benchmarked residents and staff coming from a traditional institutional environment and studied the impact of the changes, including looking at satisfaction levels amongst the three groups of building users. 

The results of the research evaluation providedevidence for establishing how the built environment can best support the development of home-like care settings for older adults transitioning into long-term care. The findings were significant for informing the aging-in-community agenda, in terms of how to ensure seniors are provided with everyday supports to facilitate independence, autonomy and well-being whilst residing in residential care.

View the full PowerPoint Presentation here.

To learn more about The Heights at Mt View please visit their website.