Aging in Place:

1. Aging in Place: Exploring ‘place’ to design better products and services Alice Ro Lillian Shieh 24 October 2006

2. NEST’s approach to understanding an issue Emerging technologies, materials, & markets Home and other sectors Social & cultural context Definitions of home, how it’s changing Context of the home Physical spaces and artifacts People People’s behaviors, emotions, motivations, perceptions, and values in and around the home Exploring “place” to design better products and services

3. Our work with baby boomers and aging NEST is currently doing long-term research about baby boomer healthcare trends and needs Why boomers? • they have a different view of aging • more information is available to them, particularly through the internet • they are more “proactive” towards healthcare • escalating costs have shifted more healthcare tasks to the patient Exploring “place” to design better products and services

4. Our work with baby boomers and aging Younger female baby boomers are an area of particular interest: • The number of aging people who are single is increasing dramatically, and of those, the majority are women • Women are often the health managers for their families • This “sandwich” generation cares for kids at home AND aged parents Exploring “place” to design better products and services

5. What does “aging in place” mean today? Remaining in one’s home as one ages? This presentation explores the experience of aging through the lens of “place.” Exploring “place” to design better products and services

6. Case study: Sarah moves house Moving house highlights the process of transforming “space” into “place” We worked with Sarah, one of the women in our study, to learn about her experience of moving and place. Exploring “place” to design better products and services

7. Meet Sarah • 54 year-old baby boomer • Vital career as a scientist • Started several successful companies • Avid reader • Has a lot of friends • Active in community • Recently lost her father • Health concerns are memory loss, overall fitness, and back pain Exploring “place” to design better products and services

8. Case study: Sarah moves house Separating from husband of 30 years Moving from Brooklyn brownstone where she has lived for 23 years Youngest of her 3 sons will live with her part-time Exploring “place” to design better products and services

9. Where to live? The family farm in Nebraska? • Sarah loves the farm, but it’s far for friends to visit A full-service apartment building in Manhattan? • Life would be easier, but could be disruptive to her youngest son, who is in his last year of high school Final decision: • Sarah chose a home in the same neighborhood, with a one-year lease Exploring “place” to design better products and services

10. Criteria for a home • Spacious • Attractive to her sons • Able to accommodate house guests • Space for office • Places for exercise machines (treadmill and rowing machine) • Open plan, “so people don’t feel cut off from each other” Exploring “place” to design better products and services

11. Arranging a home • Resulting features: • The dining room is turned into a family room • Part of the living room is turned into a dining area • Multiple sleeping areas for house guests • Exercise machine in family room with a sightline to the TV Exploring “place” to design better products and services

12. Choosing what to bring from her old place . . . Sarah wanted to… • Make a fresh start • Bring things that she loved • Keep items that embody family history • Reduce overall possessions so her sons wouldn’t be overwhelmed after her death Exploring “place” to design better products and services

13. . . . and what to leave behind Sarah didn’t want to. . . • “Destroy that entity” (her old house) by taking key objects or too much stuff • Sarah couldn’t finish sorting her things in time for the move, so she brought boxes of unsorted stuff to her new house with the intent of continuing to sort it Exploring “place” to design better products and services

14. Choosing what to acquire Furniture and design offer a contrast with Sarah’s previous Victorian-style home • Paring her belongings frees Sarah from burdens that her old stuff represented • A minimalist whiteboard for posting photos of family and friends • Comfortable lounge chairs for reading • Things that would make her sons want to spend time at her place: e.g., flat screen TVs • Furnishings to help her stay organized Exploring “place” to design better products and services

15. Creating “place:” what we learned Sarah successfully created a sense of “place” by. . . • Carving out nooks to create space for intimate conversations while preserving a feeling of openness • Designing spaces for different types of entertaining to encourage friends and family to visit • Bringing key artifacts from her old home, especially those reflecting Sarah’s family history and her interest in science • Designating a poetry corner that enables her to enjoy a frivolous activity and focus on herself • Acknowledging her changing stage in life in the look of the new home Exploring “place” to design better products and services

16. Creating “place:” physical space self residence artifacts neighborhood municipality Exploring “place” to design better products and services

17. Creating “place:” social space self nuclear family extended family friends work community services community acquaintances Exploring “place” to design better products and services

18. Creating “place:” home self artifacts neighborhood municipality Home is at the intersection of one’s physical place and social place Exploring “place” to design better products and services

19. Why is this important? Although this deconstruction of Sarah’s experience is deceptively simple, the end result is a set of principles for designing new products - for Sarah and many others with similar experiences and needs Exploring “place” to design better products and services

20. Key design principles • Choosing and creating spaces to enhance social connection • Push v. pull: surfacing significant artifacts • For personalizing space and representing the self • For maximizing ease • Culling treasures to imbue possessions with value for the next generation • Meeting change by looking forward Exploring “place” to design better products and services

21. Creating “place” through social connection Space design facilitates connection by offering Sarah different ways to engage with friends and family: • Small nooks and hideaways enable cozy escape or intimate gatherings • Re-purposing rooms enhances the feeling of connectedness throughout house • Easily configurable furniture yields medium and large open spaces that enable entertaining • Desks strategically placed with view of televisions encourage sons to hang out or do homework Exploring “place” to design better products and services

22. Creating “place” through social connection Even seemingly minor relationships can be important to one’s sense of community, but social networks aren’t always portable, despite recent advances in electronic communications Homes of older people should minimize social disruption as much as possible. Exploring “place” to design better products and services

23. Push v. pull: surfacing significant artifacts Furnishings and services can eliminate the problem of “out of sight, out of mind.” Belongings and information that are more visible decrease hassles and things to remember... Existing products and services: • Unified message dashboards don’t require people to remember to check messages on multiple devices • Calendars that actively remind you • Caller ID with photos • Systems like elfa and California Closets • Delivery: Fresh Direct, laundry, etc. • Catalog and internet interfaces designed for easy readability and navigability Exploring “place” to design better products and services

24. Culling treasures Aging people often want to maintain emotional connections with a lifetime of possessions, yet they also want to be free of the responsibilities that come with possessions. Downsizing after kids go to college is a common phenomenon. Existing products and services: • Organization specialists • Closet and storage systems that display and help celebrate one’s history and belongings • Physical scrapbooks, journals, frames, and displays • Super-easy digital albums Exploring “place” to design better products and services

25. Meeting change by looking forward Products and services aimed at a general market don’t stigmatize older users. In particular, people more readily adopt products that connote luxury and status, and not decline Existing products and services: • Cruise ship living with all ages • Full-service buildings with doormen who can carry packages, supers who can fix things, etc. • Spa bathrooms with temperature memory, etc. • Cars with night mirrors, cameras on back or cars, auto parallel parking Exploring “place” to design better products and services

26. Balancing change with continuity Sarah’s choices and decisions were marked by looking forward and embracing change…and desiring continuity and a sense of history Successful designs for baby boomers depend on a sensitive balance between conflicting desires for change and continuity Exploring “place” to design better products and services

27. Questions? Exploring “place” to design better products and services

28. Exploring “place” to design better products and services