Housing retrofit for ageing-in-place: case studies from the UK and France

Moving to an Assisted Living scheme involves older people having to downsize and move from their current homes and local networks. It can be argued that instead, the mainstream housing stock needs to be retrofitted such that it can adapt to older people’s changing needs. This research aims to study good practice in Assisted Living schemes in the UK and France to propose retrofitting options for mainstream housing so that people can age well within their own homes and communities.

Twelve Assisted Living schemes in the UK and France that cater to people over the age of 55 years were visited and analysed based on five user requirements namely mobility, sensory, cognitive, health and safety and social inclusion and in various domains such as light, access and telecare. The design of the built environment as well as the assistive technologies used were analysed and evaluated to produce a design framework for retrofitting. The framework was validated by conducting two focus groups in UK and France, with older people and staff at the selected Assisted Living schemes and others living in mainstream housing.

The findings from this research have helped identify current good practice in design for ageing-in-place available in the UK and France. The validation of these features through focus groups has enabled the proposal of priority retrofitting solutions that would enable ageing-in-place.