The "Let's build cooperative housing" Cycle was successful with around sixty attendees who took part in a final colloquium on the needs of architecture for the elderly.

The Cycle "We build cooperative housing" last March 24 had a new session, after the success of the Care session, with the participation of three professionals who have a lot of experience in the world of architecture for the elderly and in new ways of living. With the attendance of about sixty people, we reflected on how we think of architecture for the elderly, which led to the opening of a short colloquium in which the public could participate. 

Marc Trepat, member of the B\TA office focused his presentation on the redefinition of architecture, thanks to the experience of the professor in gerontology and Doctor of Architecture, Mr. Habib Chaudhury explained to him the needs of elderly people with dementia in their homes. The first art has had to rethink the artistic, technical and social aspects with the aim of improving people's living conditions: "Maybe it wouldn't be as pretty, but it would be better." Architecture, he explains, can solve the difficulties posed by the needs of an elderly person in their home: motor difficulties or loss of sensitive and/or communicative abilities. The solution, then, claims to be found in the recovery of the idea of ​​housing: spaces that avoid negative stimuli such as overcrowding, darkness, small coexistence units. The fact that there are fewer people facilitates social interaction, limits negative stimuli and helps the person in question with spatial orientation. In the second part of his presentation, Trepat explained that he is now working on a co-housing project in La Garrotxa with the aim of planning how he wants to live his old age. 

Marta Peris, from Peris+Toral Arquitectes, explained two projects carried out by her office designed for the elderly. The first of the projects (105 homes, CAP and old people's home in Glòries, Barcelona) proposes a typical 40m2 housing strategy, with a distribution starting from a wet core in the center and the rest of the spaces around , with a continuity of visuals and connection. This leads to the interconnection of spaces. According to Peris, "It is necessary to think about the housing and the building to generate double circulations to avoid the frustration of disorientation." These buildings also function as city facilities and have the residence and the CAP on the ground or first floors. One of the main goals of his project is to avoid the unsought loneliness of the elderly. At the same time, he demands that the public administrations bet on new ways of living and that these are based on the mixture and cohabitation.

As for the second project (140 endowment homes on Carrer Venezuela, in Barcelona), Peris+Toral Arquitectes distribute the program of the building by locating the homes for the elderly at the top. This is also a climatic view, since if the sun touches it more, the energy expenditure can be reduced considerably. They are also committed to creating a single central walkway as a meeting place with the neighbors. Also for feminist architecture and they exemplify it through socialist architecture, which seeks to centralize the kitchen to bring women to equality within their own home. Intergenerationality, however, often creates barriers and complexities for managing users that administrations and entities must try to overcome. 

From Peris+Toral Arquitectes it is evident that we live in a very ageist society, which separates people strictly by strata made up of years, we are related by kinship and that we show respect between the different generations, but the contact is minimal. This way of aging is reversible especially from the point of view of architecture and proposing new co-housing programs. Thus, fight against loneliness and strengthen solidarity between the different generations. 

Daniel Molina from SomHabitat raises the need from a professional point of view to respond to many elderly people, over 65, when they enter old age. Its definition is largely given by society, but also by retirement. They need socialization, access to culture. It is necessary to break with the structures that are socially marked regarding the activities or interests that move the elderly. Molina affirms that "We understand that there are as many needs of the elderly as there are people. When we talk about architecture for the elderly, the first thing that comes to mind is the geriatric residence, but from the architecture itself we must provide tools so that the needs change."

In the case of the Walden XXI project of Sostre Cívic, designed by the SomHabitat team, there is a marked accompaniment from the architecture and it is always the group that ends up deciding. The project seeks to provide an answer to the unwanted loneliness suffered by many elderly people, in addition to presenting an alternative to the residences. It is through participative processes that the main ideas are drawn: strategies to release roofs or prioritize common uses on the lower floors to motivate the interaction of the users, for example. 

At the end of the three presentations, a turn was opened where the attendees could say their respect for what is required for the future of architecture. We live in a context of progressive aging of the population, and this raised many concerns on the part of the public: loneliness, boredom, the feeling of uselessness; the three pandemics that spread among the elderly. Some asked to look for deinstitutionalisation, to look for older (young) people in the co-housing to help, that is to say, a clear commitment to intergenerationalism. All in all, therefore, we concluded that it is necessary to start moving forward, to stop making theories, to mark stable project times, intergenerationalism, to promote sustainable architecture, to open up the range of possibilities, to increase diversity and to create new experiences.

You can catch up on the video chat here: