Care-ready homes: design guidelines for adapting spaces with assistive technologies

Abstract: The increasing demand for home care among the ageing population calls for new design strategies capable of transforming the home into the primary setting for care provision. This paper presents preliminary findings from research carried out within the Age-It program by Task 1.3 of Spoke 9, focusing on the adaptability of domestic environments for home care and the integration of assistive technologies. Based on a person-centred and bio-psycho-social model, the study investigates the interactions among vulnerable users, caregivers, and the domestic environment. Its aim is to identify spatial and technological requirements essential for effectively supporting home care activities, while ensuring safety, comfort, usability, maintainability, and integration of assistive technologies. The research has led to the development of specific operational guidelines to support the design process for adapting the spaces most involved in caregiving activities. These guidelines propose alternative technical solutions, qualitatively assessed in terms of their building impact and compatibility with existing constraints. The developed guidelines will be integrated into a novel digital tool based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodologies, designed to facilitate multi-criteria simulation and evaluation of various design alternatives. Overall, the proposed approach aims to foster more informed decision-making processes, encouraging preventive design actions in the creation of "care-ready" environments, rationalising resource use, and extending the lifespan of homes to better support ageing-in-place.