Since the HAPPI Report was launched in early December 2009, it has created a good deal of interest, particularly from those working in the sector. We believe that recommendations contained in the report should be applauded and embraced:

There is an urgent need for more attractive and contemporary retirement housing in strategic locations as an alternative for ‘young older people’ under-occupying family housing.

We need to re-examine some of our existing typologies and the way we design the dwellings in order to meet this need.

We need to be more creative in exploring and facilitating the provision of this housing in new ways, such as co-housing, that will be affordable for society.

Over the past twenty years PRP has assembled a team of skilled and knowledgeable architects to focus specifically on the housing and care facilities for older people and other projects for people with particular needs. Our broad client base has enabled us to develop a thorough understanding of the full range of models being developed.

Our experience in this sector is grounded in the sheer number and range of projects that we have designed and completed, in our willingness to absorb new ideas and in our research and development in the field where we have written a number of design guides and other publications.

We are widely recognised as leading architects in Housing for Older People. Our projects embrace public and private sector provision and range from small specialist Care Homes to large Retirement Villages.

HAPPI Futures

The HAPPI report promotes flexible, adaptable and contemporary housing that will provide an attractive alternative to ‘young older people’ under-occupying family housing. However, it also includes a number of recommendations that challenge some of our existing models and typologies: such as the central corridor and single aspect flats in Extra Care developments.

There are clearly viability issues facing us in terms of the smaller 40 unit Extra Care schemes as well as questions being asked around the institutional nature of corridor access and single aspect flats.

Some of the key lessons from Europe included the continuity of care on offer through the strategic location of housing and care facilities; also the partnerships between local authorities, housing and care agencies and the developers who often had a long term stake (50 years) in the buildings.

How will our existing models need to adapt to suit our future needs?

We believe that there is no simple solution in terms of future models of housing with care. New housing and care facilities will need to be developed on a site specific basis; hybrid, mixed-tenure, community-integrated housing and care facilities that embrace local need, local networks and partnerships and, indeed, the precise location of the site relative to local facilities, amenities and transport.

This might take the form of a range of different housing and care typologies being developed on a site or within a neighbourhood to provide:

THE COMMUNITY HUB

‘Partnerships’ will be key and the partners must include the local authority in a pivotal role, the local health authority (PCT), private developers, RSL’s, and the Care Providers.

The different elements that might be included within a hybrid development might include:

• Attractive Retirement Housing

• Cat 2 Sheltered housing (affordable housing equivalent)

• Extra Care/Assisted Living flats

• Care Home accommodation that might include intermediate care

• Day Care and Resource Centre facilities

• Communal facilities that might include services (meals/laundry) for older people in the wider community

Alternatively, each one of these elements could stand alone, depending on the local circumstances.

HOW EXTRA CARE MIGHT NEED TO ADAPT

The cost of providing extensive and often under-utilised communal facilities within Extra Care has become a major issue together with the impact of personal care budgets. The scale and shape of Extra Care housing needs to adapt to address these issues.

Future Extra Care developments might therefore:

• Be larger…possibly upwards of 60 units

• Be mixed tenure to be affordable

• Cater specifically for people with a higher level of care needs

• Be better located near facilities, transport etc.

• Have less communal provision and avoid local duplication of facilities in the area

• Be combined with other housing/care provision as community ‘hubs’

• Share its facilities and services with older people in the surrounding community

• Be self-contained in more isolated rural situations

• Explore different typologies in terms of layout and circulation

FUTURE MODELS

To summarise, we think that the way forward will be through the development of a number of different models to meet local need and circumstances:

• Attractive retirement housing for the ‘young old’ focussed primarily at both the leasehold sale and affordable rental markets in desirable locations well connected with local facilities and transport - See Carnarvon Place in Newbury as an example of this.

• Community Based Continuing Care ‘hubs’ offering a range of different types of accommodation for different tenures and levels of dependency - See Bath & North East Somerset Centres of Excellence as examples.

• Larger Extra Care developments that integrate more with the wider community - See the Cheshire Extra Care PFI projects as examples.

• Co-housing initiatives that are funded, commissioned and managed by the residents.

• Community based specialist dementia care homes.

Whatever models we build, we will be increasingly reliant on public and private sector partnerships and creative financial models involving ‘equity release’ to fund both housing and care provision.

About the Specialist Housing Team

PRP as a Multi-Disciplinary Team

Specialist Housing & Care:

HAPPI Reflections

ENVIRONMENTAL INTERIORS PLANNING

LANDSCAPE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

There are undoubtedly some important lessons to be learned from northern European countries that appear to be some years ahead of us in their thinking and practice…

Much of the new development in the sector in the United Kingdom is unimaginative in its approach to design and formulaic in terms of the housing and care models that we tend to accept too readily.

Is it time for a paradigm shift in terms of what housing we provide for our ageing selves and how we provide it? We have set out our thoughts on the subject in our brief article within this update and have also illustrated a number of projects to illustrate how PRP and our clients are already responding to the HAPPI agenda.

In addition to our architectural role, our services include:

• Feasibility Studies • Option Appraisals • Brief Development • Design Guides • Design & Access Statements

The range of our projects includes:

• Retirement Villages • Extra Care Sheltered Housing • Residential Care & Nursing Homes • Design for Dementia • Resource Centres • Day Care Centres • Supported Housing in the Community

Roger BattersbyManaging Director

Anne-Marie NicholsonDirector (Surrey)

Steve HyndsDirector (Surrey)

Jenny ButerchiAssociate Director

Clare CameronAssociate Director

Richard Meyrick EvansAssociate Director

Roger Battersby Managing Director & HAPPI Panel Memberroger.battersby@prparchitects.co.uk

Michael Sandford Senior Interior Designer michael.sandford@prparchitects.co.uk

Tom Delhanty Associatetom.delhanty@prparchitects.co.uk

Andrew Mellor Director (Environmental)andrew.mellor@prparchitects.co.uk

Philip Murphy Directorphilip.murphy@prpprojectservices.co.uk

Angela Banks Head of Planning angela.banks@prparchitects.co.uk

Should you be interested in hearing more about our thoughts on the HAPPI Report and ideas around the future of housing for older people, please contact:

Roger Battersby Managing Director & Panel Memberroger.battersby@prparchitects.co.uk

Anne-Marie Nicholson Director (Surrey) am.nicholson@prparchitects.co.uk

Steve Hynds Director (Surrey) stephen.hynds@prparchitects.co.uk

Anne-Marie Nicholson Director (Surrey) am.nicholson@prparchitects.co.uk

Steve Hynds Director (Surrey) stephen.hynds@prparchitects.co.uk

Telephone 0845 634 3610 | www.prparchitects.co.uk | London Surrey Manchester Edinburgh

FROM PRP’S SPECIALIST HOUSING TEAM

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

In their 2008 strategy document, the Lifetimes Homes and Lifetime Neighbourhoods - A National Strategy for Housing an Ageing Society, Communities and Local Government (CLG) recommended that an Innovation Panel be appointed for research to be undertaken to assess ‘how to further reform new build specialised housing’ for older people in order to meet their needs and aspirations for the future.

The HAPPI Report was published in early December 2009 with the findings of the Innovation Panel which was commissioned by CLG and the DoH through the Homes and Communities Agency.

Roger Battersby, PRP’s Managing Director, was appointed to the panel of 13 experts, chaired by Lord Richard Best. Roger visited all of the exemplar projects, both within the United Kingdom and across Northern Europe and Scandinavia, and was able to make a significant contribution to the panel’s deliberations by drawing from PRP’s decades of experience in the sector.

Village Hall

Reception

Double ht. foyer

Therapy

Buggy St.

Refuse

Fitness Suite

Hair salon

Games room Lounge

Terrace

MOL

Restaurant

Undercroft parking Kitchen

Ancillary

Bar

Laundry

Shop

Cinema

Cafe Bar

Training room

Lobby

Main Entrance

Main Ent.

Res. Ent.

Residential Entrance

Continuing Care in the Community

Attractive Retirement Housing

Extra Care as a Community Hub Extra Care as a Key Component in Urban Regeneration

HAPPI Recommendation: Building layouts maximise natural light and ventilation by avoiding internal corridors and single-aspect flats, and apartments have balconies, patios, or terraces with enough space for tables and chairs as well as plants.

HAPPI Recommendation: More support is given not only to Extra Care housing but to continuing care retirement communities.

HAPPI Recommendation: In all but the smallest developments, multi- purpose space is available for residents to meet, with facilities designed to support an appropriate range of activities - perhaps serving the wider neighbourhood as a community ‘hub’, as well as guest rooms for visiting friends and families.

HAPPI Recommendation: In the implementation of measures to ensure adaptability, homes are designed to be ‘care ready’ so that new and emerging technologies, such as telecare and community equipment, can be readily installed.

HAPPI Recommendation: More support should be given to Extra Care Housing that cater for a wide age range, with a tenure mix and economies of scale that make possible extensive facilities for healthy living and social activity.

HAPPI Recommendation: In addition to urban locations, housing for older people should be built in the suburban areas where the majority currently live, making the best possible use of new developments to create Lifetime Neighbourhoods.

Extra Care Flats

Day Centre for Dementia Care

Care Home

CHRISTOPHER BOONE’S ALMSHOUSES, LEWISHAM

Facts & Figures: 61 new retirement apartments for affordable rent and 30 private sale dwellings.

Pertinent features relating to the HAPPI recommendations:

• Larger Apartments• Deck access & dual aspect apartments designed to offer flexibility• Mixed tenure development• Key Location - near shops/transport - next door to a Care Home• Dwellings to meet minimum Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4• Communal Provision: A single attractive multi-purpose space• Generous balconies & bay windows• Attractive contemporary design• No internal corridors

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE, BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET

Facts & Figures: 3 Centres of Excellence providing Nursing/Residential Care, Extra Care and resource centre for older people with dementia.

These developments reflect the model of continuing of care with a range of facilities and housing on one site embedded in a community. This is the prevailing model across much of Europe.

CHESHIRE EXTRA CARE PFI

Facts & Figures: The first completed Extra Care PFI which delivered 432 new Extra Care apartments across 5 sites. The new Extra Care developments range from 56 to 133 units.

Pertinent features relating to the HAPPI recommendations:

• Shares communal facilities with people from the surrounding community to create a hub

• Located within existing neighbourhoods with local amenities• All schemes maximise the number of 2 Bedroom apartments• Mixed tenure• Incorporates assistive technology • Larger scale

KIDBROOKE EXTRA CARE

Facts & Figures: 170 units mix of 1 and 2 Bedroom apartments with 1,500m² communal and community use areas.

Pertinent features relating to the HAPPI recommendations:

• Mixed tenure - 90% affordable units and 10% shared ownership• Key Location - close to neighbourhood hub• Challenges corridor access model by providing core & cluster arrangement• Dual aspect flats & circulation cores• Generous sheltered balconies to all apartments• Shares facilities with the wider community• Attractive contemporary design• Predominately 2 Bedroom apartments• Releases family homes in the community to the market

Location is Key: Attractive Retirement Housing

HAPPI Recommendation: New retirement homes are created in Lifetime Neighbourhoods - sustainable places with easy access to shops and facilities, with good transport connections and are designed to be inclusive, safe and welcoming.

CARNARVON PLACE, NEWBURY

Facts & Figures: 85 Retirement Apartments and 15 shared ownership units.

Pertinent features relating to the HAPPI recommendations:

• Key Location:

- Located within an existing neighbourhood - Close to town centre - Good transport links - Adjacent to amenities

• Generous space standards - average 2 bedroom 75m²• Mixed Tenure creating a mixed community• Majority 2 Bedroom apartments• Deck / Gallery access to apartments• Incorporates assistive technology

HAPPI Recommendation: Building layouts promote circulation areas as shared spaces that offer connections to the wider context, encouraging interaction, supporting interdependence and avoiding an ‘institutional feel’, including the imaginative use of shared balcony access to front doors and thresholds, promoting natural surveillance and providing for ‘defensible space’.

Masterplan by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

Extra Care

Hub

Core & Cluster Model

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Cluster 5

Core

Community access

Communal Facilities

Staff Facilities

1 Bedroom Flat

2 Bedroom Flat

Care Suite