The Integral Kitchen Design Of Apartment For The Aged

The aging problem need be solved urgently by the Chinese government with the deepened graying and the increasing number of "421" family. And the traditional concept of providing for the aged has changed tremendously, from family-based support for the aged to the social support for the aged. Therefore, the apartment for the aged will become the mainstream of the social support for the aged in view of the aged longing for home. As one of four functional areas of the home environment, kitchen is an essential region of the apartment for the aged. Comfortable kitchen environment is of great significance to increase the life interest of the aged and promote well-being.The purpose of the research is to establish the systematic theory of the integral kitchen design of apartment for the aged on the base of understanding the main features of the aged. It not only provides the design basis for the designer, makes the design key and countermeasure clear, but also explores the new developing direction of the apartment for the aged development.This paper is divided into five parts:(1)Design basis. First of all, the aged is cognized from four aspects, which are the characteristic of life behavior, body size, psychological characteristic and physiological characteristic. In addition, the flow of kitchen activities and spatial arrangement are researched, so that the factors in the integral kitchen that are not suitable for the aged are found out.(2)Design principle. The concept of "home" is advanced based on the emotion of the aged. And design principles of the integral kitchen of apartment for the aged are put forward according to the aged's characteristics.(3) Design analysis. This part studies and analyzes various elements of the integral kitchen in detail to make the mode that is fit for the aged clear. Thus the systematic theory of the integral kitchen design of apartment for the aged is established. This provides the design basis and reference data for the integral kitchen design of apartment for the aged.(4) Analysis of the integral kitchen environment. The design standard of the physical environment is proposed from the concept of "integral". The color and the material are the key points of the integral kitchen design, which have profound influence to the kitchen activity. They improve the integral kitchen design system of apartment for the aged further.(5) Design practice. The case that the author designed applied the design theory and enriches the content of this research. The design practice tests the feasibility and the effectiveness of this research and proves the guiding significance of the theoretical study to the practice.This paper studies systemically the integral kitchen design system of apartment for the aged and filled a blank field in the research of the apartment for the aged. In the course of research, the author pays more attention to combining theoretical analysis with practice. The paper establishes the integral kitchen design system of apartment for the aged, based on the aged's characteristics and the flow of kitchen activities. The integral kitchen design of apartment for the aged not only enriches the life of the aged, but also meets the emotional need of the aged.