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AND45 Ciaffoni

2024, AND

https://doi.org/10.58198/and.v45i1

Abstract

The disorientation caused by the pandemic within the complex public/private socio-health system related to the elderly population has highlighted the contrasts and misalignments of an outdated care and residential model. This need for structural change has been evident even before the global tragic events, underscoring the necessity for a model that better meets the needs of society. The questions that were posed before and have become more pressing in the post-pandemic years focus on the identity of these spaces, which provide continuity of life for the elderly. This is true not only in physical terms—related to care and prosthetic activities—but also in social terms, affecting the emotional and affective spheres. On one hand, these services were originally designed to relieve the healthcare system from non-acute geriatric hospitalizations that simply require support for daily activities to address non-self-sufficiency. On the other hand, elderly care services encompass a mission that goes beyond healthcare provision, addressing social aspects and maintaining human relationships for their residents. This dual relationship—between physical and psychological care and the fight against elderly isolation—fuels debates and broader scenarios involving the built environment and urban planning. What kind of aggregation model is best suited to respond to this dual nature? Should we lean towards a more functional approach aligned with hygiene and healthcare logics, or create a more hybrid and intimate environment, similar to a micro-urban structure? What direction should the evolution of structures meeting the elderly's needs take? These questions undoubtedly seek answers within the healthcare system in terms of service provision, which in turn identifies the functional spaces from which to derive solutions for a new structural model. Examples include Alzheimer's Villages, which are based not on purely architectural aggregation principles but on a literal translation of a therapeutic approach theory. Architectural research cannot shy away from offering suggestions in this regard, given its role in clarifying potentially useful characteristics to address these needs. New housing models for the elderly must be developed that better align with the various needs and demands of this segment of the population today.