The Concept of Extra Care: How does gerontology affect today’s design of collective models of living?

This essay by Julia Radka, a post-graduate student in architecture at the University of Nottingham, begins with a literature review about people’s change of needs as they grow older.

Drawing on gerontology considerations, it explores the implications on the way extra care housing is designed for collective living and, through a number of case studies, reflects her thoughts as a student architect to create suitable, as well as desirable environments, for older people.