Intimate relationship development for the elderly: Transition from 'Volkstuin' (community garden) to residential environment

The family is the most intimate social environment given to us, and this basic social element plays an important role as we get older. However, changes in family structure and increasing physical distance between family members due to globalization make it difficult to care for the elderly by the family. In the global age, distance from the most intimate social group, the family, causes issues for the elderly, such as loneliness and social isolation.In the present situation, many elderly homes are not only disconnected from society but also isolated in their private rooms due to the large scale and institutional space organization. For elderly people who lose their connections with society after retirement and have less mobility, these living environments are not suitable for them to build and develop new intimate social relationships.Therefore, this study aims to provide a social environment like family by creating architectural spaces that help them form intimate social relations with their neighbors, and also assist the elderly to stay connected and part of our society. In order to achieve this, the thesis suggests a new elderly housing environment by incorporating the characteristic of ‘Volkstuin’ (community garden) that commonly exist around us into elderly housing.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Science