CHURCH

RACQUET CLUB

GROCERY

PARK

CHURCH

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

50’-0”

yard

master bedroom

kitchen, breakfast

street

pool

children’s bedroom

avg. size - 2200sftavg. lot size - 0.5 acresdist between - min 50’0”

size - 1200sft

dist between - 20’0”

great room

garage

adminstration

guest bedroomlaundry room

formal dining

chapel

front yard

porch

fi tness centrecanning kitchen

side yard

deck

AGING IN A SUBURBAN CONTEXT An exploration of how design can help maintain the quality of life and social connections, reducecost of daily life, and reconnect with nature and memory in the suburban context. M. Arch Thesis, Deepa Surendranath , Spring 2013 Committee: Moir McClean, Akerman, Sachs

Retirement and Aging are very important aspects of a person’s life. Yet, this is the most neglected aspect as well. The many changes in environment and quality of lifestyles after a person retires are often associated with the conditions faced in old age like diminishing physical ability, disenchantment to name a few. The once advantageous suburbs do not help alleviate the situation the elderly face and infact turn disadvantageous and contribute to the physical or psychological issues faced by the population.

These can be addressed through designing a community in which the residents continue to feel independent, get adequate stimulation of the brain and good physical activity as they age. Living arrangements, food, gardening, water and past memories, all affect the lifestyles of the elderly retirees.

The quest of this thesis is to design a community that maintains and even improves the quality of life for people after retirement by providing them with a living arrangement which is still connected to the suburbs, a condensed neighborhood that ties into it, the proximity of water, gardening and food production and reliving past memories.

The goal of this thesis is to design a sustainable Senior Housing community that provides a smooth transition from being employed to being retired. A successful ‘Aging in Place’ program maximizes the personal dignity and the functional independence of the resident being retained. Support should be provided only with respect to the individuals needs alone (Heumann & Boldy, 1993).

apartments

starter homes

larger homes

TRADITIONAL

PROPOSED

aging in suburban place?or

apartments?

aging in a more manageable neighborhood

assisted living

fi nal care

The usual tendency is to go up on the size of the living quarters as the family grows and then go down when faced with an empty nest

TYPICAL SCENARIO

EFFICIENT LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

TYPICAL SUBURBAN CONDITION IN 37923

manageable homescondensed neighborhoodreduced transit

community gardenfood preservationeducation for children

engages the community and provides intergenerational connectionpossible good nutrition and food for the whole year, farmers market and education for childrenpersonal garden spaces

reduce run-off, reduce erosion in the fl ood plainwater conservationprovide experiences of water

help boost morale and give a sense of importanceprovide intergenerational contact

reduces requirement of drivinghelps maintain physical ability and slows down aging

visible storm waterbioswalesrain water harvesting

walkable communitywalking trailtennis, fi tness center, pleasant stairways

opportunities for meetingstorytelling, canning, gardening, fi shingwaterwheel, henhouse, picture wall

FIRST FLOOR PLAN PROPOSED UNIT PLAN

PROPOSED SITE PLAN

PROPOSED WALKABLE COMMUNITY

EXISTING CONDITION

TRADITIONALPROPOSED

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

PROPOSED CONDITION IN 37923

FOOD AND NUTRITION

NEIGHBORHOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD

SITE

SITE

SITE

SITE

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

WATER AS AN EXPERIENCE AND WATER CONSERVATION

HEALTH AND EXERCISE

CREATING AND CHERISHING MEMORIES

WIND

WIND

B

A

C

NEIGHBORHOOD - INVENTORY OF OPPORTUNITIES

LOCATION

AMENITIES WITHIN 1/2 MILE (ten minute walk)

VEHICULAR PATHS

PROPOSED WALKING PATHS/ SIDEWALKS

DROUGHT AND IRRIGATION DURING THE GROWING SEASON

DEMOGRAPHICS IN 37923

DATA REGARDING HOUSES IN 37923APPROACH TO SITE - 10 MILE ROAD APPROACH TO SITE - CROSS CREEK ROAD EXISTING STORM WATER DRAINAGE

PROPOSED SITE PLAN

Number of Houses and Condos : 12,891

Number of Apartments : 5,051

CLIMATIC ANALYSIS

GREENWAYSredeveloped grocery store

latitude, longitude - 35.9606° N, 83.9208° W existing trailproposed trailpredominant wind - sw and ne

max. avg. high - 88 deg Fmin. avg. low - 27 deg F

existing assisted living

existing vehicular movementSource: google images

Source: google maps Source: google maps Source: google maps

logical access points

existing knox county libraryexisting therapy centerproposed future development

EXISTING CONDITIONS AT THE PROPOSED SITE

0 32 64 128 feet

SECTION A SECTION C

GARDEN

HALLWAY

MULTIPURPOSE HALL

GREAT ROOM (UNIT)

KEY PLAN SIDEWALK

LEVEL 1 +0’0”LEVEL -1 -12’0”

0 0

00

10 10

1010

20 20

2020

40 40

4040

feet feet

feetfeet

689101141251314

67

1

9

3

8

15

12

12

11

10

CHURCH

RACQUET CLUB

GROCERY

PARK

CHURCH

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

f fiThus, the design focuses on condensing the existing suburban condition within a more manageable neighborhood. Food, water, fi t-ness and opportunities to create and cherish memories come together in theis proposed neighborhood, community and the living unit itself.

Most spaces in the design serve multiple functions and hence the effi ciency of the living arrangements is maximised. For example. fi t-ness, water, food and memories come together in the garden which also engages the neighboring communities. The courtyard brings together all these aspects too. Within the unit, the side yard and the great room all improves the effi ciency of the living quarters.

Ultimately, the goal of aging in a suburban place will ensure that residents would contribute positively to their own social well-being as well as the society which houses them.

1 2

9

8

8

4

5

5

6 6

6

6

7

13

14

3

SECTION B

CANNING KITCHEN

COMMUNAL DINING PRIVATE STAIRWAYSIDE YARD

POOL

LEVEL 2 +12’0” LEVEL 3 +28’0”

LEVEL 4 +40’0”

0

0 0

010

10 10

1020

20 20

2040

40 40

40feet

feet feet

feet

86

6

9101115 16

16

16

11

7

5 6

11

10 9

8

8

6

6 615