Retirement Home

1st Picture- As Singapore is experiencing the crisis of an aging population, I have then concluded that an essential building to build would be a retirement home. Due to the aging population of Singapore, there would be an increase in the number of elderly, which would in turn means the increase in the demand for housing for them. Furthermore, there is also an increase in the proportion of older persons living alone or only with their spouse, from 9% in 1990 to 15% in 1997, and this trend is likely to continue. The number of unmarried elderly persons is also expected to increase. Both trends mean that the demand for housing will also likely to increase, thus having a need for a retirement home, a place where the elderly can retire into having to spend the rest of their lives in.

2nd Picture- With the placement of two cuboid residential buildings, the centre portion would left empty, this space will be used for recreational facilities such as gym, garden or a pool. With these recreational facilities being placed in between the two residential buildings, it will not just allow easy and quick accessibility for the residents to the recreational facilities but also it with the recreational area being placed in between two buildings will more or less decrease the noise level, gave off by passing cars or roads nearby. Satisfying the wants of the elderly of having a quiet environment, enabling the elderly to do their activity in peace. Furthermore, the building placements will also allow the elderly to be more active, As the recreational facilities is just a few steps from their home, it will ease mobility problems of the elderly of having to travel a long distance for recreational means. With the recreational centralize it also will allow more socializing between the residents as they will meet one another more often having this placement.

The 3D view of a unit in the retirement home. This unit is a sample in which is based on a studio apartment which has no bedroom (56m^2). The total number of units that the whole retirement can hold is about 255 of this type of units.
The studio apartment, as you entered the unit, the first thing, that you will see is a bed. Behind the bed is a protruding wall which allows the elderly to have some privacy when they are sleeping from the window. At the other end of the wall is an all in one tv, it includes a dvd player and two small speakers at the sides of the player. This allows easy usage for the elderly as they system configurations are easy and simple, thus making lives of elderly easier. The coffee table placed in front of the couch is function both as a dining table and also coffee table. This is so because after much consideration, I find that the dining table is too space consuming thus decided to place the two coffee table in order to create more space which makes elderly mobility around the house easier and also to decrease the chances of an elderly falling and hitting an object. And for elderly who are wheelchair bound it is also easier with more space. Beside the couch is a small kitchen, which contains the necessary things that a kitchen needs. The kitchen is placed in a way that it i facing the window. This is to allow easy spotting when a fire breaks out in an apartment, this will ensure that the fire will be stopped immediately once spotted and also that the safety of elderly in the unit. Behind the kitchen is a bathroom which has a shower room, this makes it easier for elderly to bath as the walls and the door can provide a support for the elderly while they bath as elderly tends to have a weaker leg muscle therefore the shower room thing is chosen. The toilet bowl should have handles at the sides to aid the elderly when getting on and off the toilet bowl. The unit flooring is of carpet this will allow a greater friction between the elderly leg and the ground, therefore decreasing the chances of elderly falling. Furthermore, carpets will allow the elderly when falling to have a softer impact on the ground compared to a hard tiled flooring which might cause serious injuries to the elderly’s bones and joints. The colour of the walls are chosen of the colour between gold and orange. This is because, orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance. Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys. And gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality. With orange, the elderly will be able to feel stronger as orange symbolizes strength and endurance, it also provides more oxygen supply to the brain, stimulating mental activity thus helping the elderly mentally and emotionally. Gold will allow the elderly to feel that they are of high quality and is needed greatly by the society, not letting them feel left out or such. Gold is also the colour in favour to most elderly which will help with the adaptation.
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

This is an interior layout of the units of the building. The bathroom is 2m by 3m as elderly is in need of a bigger bathroom, especially when they are wheelchair bounded. The kitchen is not a room but just a space formed from the living room to be used as a kitchen. This design is because that the window is just at the opposite of the kitchen as an elderly tends to be forgetful, it might cause a fire in the kitchen due to overheating of food etc, people on the outside or the opposite block will be able to spot it quickly and in time, to prevent any serious fire. The walkway of the units are huge and very wide allowing wheelchair to move around freely. The additional wall is to allow some privacy to the elderly from the window or entrance depending on the floor.