The Elderly Community Public Activity Space Research

As China gradually entered the aging society, elderly home care hasbecome the chief mode provided for the aged, considering the limitations oftraditional culture, socio-economical condition, etc. Community has becomethe most principal space for them. It contains the functions of sports, socialinteractions, leisure and many other activities. Therefore, a good design of theactivity space is beneficial to the elderly people to enjoy their autumn years,and to satisfy their psychological and physical needs. This essay is focused onthe research and discussion which provide the possibilities to make thecommunity public activity spaces conform to the requirements for the aged.The practical design of this research is based on some residentialprojects around Gu-cun in Shanghai. It contains two sections, includingtheoretical design and essay. As aging appropriate design is such a huge topicwhile the content here is limited, this essay is mainly focused on thecommunity aged public space, however, the design of multi-leveled agingtransformation is based on the original homes in Gu-cun. Starting with thefield trip, the essay analyses the public spaces in the long-term care facility byanalogy, takes the related research material for references and does researchon the community aged public space from the aspects of elderly needs, formselection, planning layouts, public space design, facility instrument designand recreation of other physical environments.This public space for the community of elderly is part of agingappropriate design, The exploratory research of the public space form by themulti-storey gallery apartments can not only meet the health, convenience andsafety requirements for the elderly, but can also create a sense of closure,recreate the neighborhood which is lack of nowadays. Hopefully there will be better development prospects in the future.