YEARBOOK 2015 - 2016 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

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RESEARCH ON AN IDEAL
MODEL OF COMMUNITY
HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
COMMUNITY IN SUZHOU
2015-2016 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西 交 利 物 浦 大 学 建 筑 系
Senior Citizens across China celebrating the Chongyang Festival, China's day for the elderly, 9 October
2016. Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Qian Lin
PhD Candidate
Department of Architecture
Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University
(XJTLU)
With the population of elderly people increasing, ageing is becoming an
important social issue in China. The “One Child Policy” of 1980s limited
the number of children born and has resulted in a 4-2-1 structural morphology
across three generations with a nuclear family typically defined
by 4 grandparents, a couple, and one child. Due to the pressure from
contemporary fast-paced life and increased opportunities, the younger
generation born in the 1980s and 1990s no longer live a traditional way
of life. Regardless of whether they choose to marry late, or establish
a Dink family, their lifestyles are contributing to an increased elderly
demographic. According to statistics, by 2030 the elderly population
of China will reach 400 million, surpassing that of Japan. And by then
China will have the highest level of ageing in the world. But currently,
design for the elderly community in China is still relatively backward,
which may hardly keep pace with the demand of ever-growing population
of the elderly.
Old people have their own way of life and daily activities, so it is imperative
that design for the elderly community first satisfy their needs. In
China there are generally three types of elderly care: institutional care;
community care; and home-based care. Institutional care is operated by
either governments or private agencies, and includes facilities such as
nursing homes or assisted living facilities, where the elderly are housed
together to receive services. Community care mainly refers to businesses
that provide services to residents in their communities, including
food, home maintenance, and home care, facilitating the daily life of the
elderly people. It also includes the provision of recreational facilities,
such as card rooms, dancing rooms, and sports halls, where they can enjoy
leisure time together. And finally home-based care generally means
that elderly people live at home with their children. Given Chinese culture
and customs, most Chinese people prefer home-based care, however
this option is becoming increasingly less plausible. As such, this research
seeks to propose ideal models of community housing which will cater for
the elderly community in Suzhou.
Research