Better Senior Living Spaces: Creating a True Sense of Home

Learn how to create spaces that support residents' independence, dignity, health, and ability to enjoy life.

Description: 

What do you picture when you imagine the setting where you'll live out your final years?

Regardless of health status, an authentic sense of home is a core psychological need among the aging. In fact, from a psychological standpoint, residents who live in senior communities without a sense of home are considered homeless. Qualities like belonging and comfort—and spaces that encourage participation in life-affirming activities—are critically important to successful senior living spaces. In this course, learn how to create spaces that support residents' independence, dignity, health, and ability to enjoy life.

Learning objectives

  • Explore how human spatial experiences in the built environment are related not to a single space, but to systems of settings and activities
  • Through an understanding of how leisure activities impact people's sense of home, investigate how to create a hierarchy of spaces and a scale of social context to accommodate such activities
  • Translate strategies for creating a sense of home beyond skilled nursing facilities, applying them to all different types of senior housing
  • Review specific examples of the physical, social, psychological, and emotional aspects of human environments as they relate to experiencing a sense of home
User rating:
4.234595
Average: 4.2 (844 votes)
 $50  non-member
 $35  member
1.50 LUs
  • HSW
  • RIBA

Instructors

  • Barry C. Yang Headshot

    Barry C. Yang

    AIA

    Associate, Senior Design Architect & Director of Senior Living Environments | Zimmerman Architectural Studios

    Barry C Yang, AIA, Associate & Senior Design Architect @ Zimmerman Architectural Studios, has...