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How the Body Was Created
 The Aging
Design Research Program, 1991
In 1991, a roundtable for some of the most influential
providers, regulators, designers, and agencies involved in the
design for aging industry was held at AIA Headquarters. The result
of the two-day session, in which more than 75 individuals
participated, was the creation of the Aging Design Research Program
(ADRP) and the action agenda that has guided its activities
since.
A Center for
Excellence: Design for Aging Center, 1996
To expand its initiatives and outreach, the ADRP
established a permanent operational home within the AIA as the
Design for Aging Center.
Design for
Aging Knowledge Community, 2004
The Design for Aging (DFA) Knowledge Community was formed to more
effectively represent the aging professionals who share common
challenges, opportunities, and passion for design for aging. As a
knowledge community, this professional interest group can
collaborate to deepen their understanding of our aging society
through ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.
The Initiatives
ADRP/American
Occupational Therapists Association Joint Project
In 1991, the ADRP was awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging. The grant
was part of the administration’s Eldercare Campaign and
focused on increasing awareness among architects, architecture
faculty, and students of elder care issues as they affect design of
the built environment. The major portion of the award was devoted
to a joint project between the ADRP and the American Occupational
Therapy Association, a booklet titled Design for Aging:
Strategies for Collaboration between Architects and Occupational
Therapists, published in 1993. The booklet provided guidance
on ways in which architects and occupational therapists could work
together to improve the environments in which the elderly undertake
the activities of daily living.
Design
for Aging Network and Updates
The ADRP established a Design for Aging Network to formally link
architects, interior designers, educators, facility owners,
developers, managers, health care and service providers, and
product manufacturers concerned with facilities for the elderly. A
brochure describing the network was distributed to more than 1,500
individuals and organizations, and a network directory was
published in 1993 and updated in 1995.
National
Volunteerism in Action for the Aging Award
In April 1992, the ADRP was nominated for the prestigious National
Volunteerism in Action for the Aging awards program sponsored by
the National Council on Aging. The AIA received the award in
recognition of its outstanding initiatives in aging and for
establishing the ADRP.
Design
for Aging: An Annotated Bibliography, 1980–1992
In 1992, the ADRP awarded a grant of $3,200 to the AIA
Library to expand its holdings on the topic of design for aging and
to develop an annotated bibliography of key references. The
acquisitions and the bibliography have been available to AIA
members since 1993.
ADRP/AAHSA
– Congressional Symposium on Environmental Design
The ADRP assisted the American Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging (AAHSA) in preparation for the 1993
Congressional Symposium on Environmental Design. The symposium
educated congressional and federal agency staff on the need for
dramatic changes in the regulatory system relating to the design of
facilities for aging. The event focused on initiating regulatory
reform in the design and construction of care facilities for the
elderly.
Design for
Aging Review, 1991–2004
The DFA, in association with the AAHSA, conducts the
biannual Design for Aging Review (DFAR) program. The review covers
a wide spectrum of aging design projects, awarding citations to
outstanding projects in the field and publishing selected projects
in the Design for Aging Reviews publication.
Design for
Aging Review Traveling Exhibit, 1991–2004
In conjunction with the DFAR awards program, the DFA
sponsors and hosts a traveling exhibit of DFAR projects and
citation winners at such locations as the annual AAHSA meeting and
expos, the annual AIA national conventions and expos, the NASLI
winter meetings, as well as the AIA-AAH/American Society of
Healthcare Engineering’s International Conference and
Exhibition of Health Facility Planning, Design, and
Construction.
Design
for Aging Review Symposium, 1990–2004
The DFA sponsors a symposium at the AAHSA annual meetings and AIA
national conventions every year since 1991, in conjunction with the
Design for Aging Review program. Jurors involved with the awards
program, and participants in the postoccupancy evaluations selected
from the citation winners, have presented their findings and the
projects were published in the Design for Aging Review publication,
whose audience averages 200-300 architects and providers of
services for the aging. The program was also presented
internationally at “Better Living–Adding Life to
Years,” a conference organized by the International Council
for Caring Communities at the United Nations Headquarters in New
York City and at the International Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging program in Amsterdam, both in 1995.
Postoccupancy
Evaluations of Design for Aging Facilities Review
The DFA completed postoccupancy evaluations of selected citation
winning facilities in each of the Design for Aging Review programs.
These have been presented to enthusiastic audiences at AAHSA’s
annual meetings in the years between publication cycles.
National
Easter Seal Society, “Easy Access Housing”
The DFA, then ADRP, worked with the National Easter Seal Society
and Century 21 to conduct a national design awards program for Easy
Access Housing, a program that emphasized innovative approaches to
design for aging in place. The program was conducted in 1992 to
target the architecture community; it resulted in an exhibition and
publication presented at the 1993 AIA National Convention in
Chicago.
Design
for Aging Curriculum
The DFA worked with the U.S. Administration on Aging to
create a comprehensive package of resource materials and teaching
guidelines on the topic of design for aging. The package consisted
of a primer, a “tool kit” (exercises and case studies),
an annotated bibliography, and a slide set. The package was
distributed to architecture schools throughout the United States
and Canada, and a portion of the package was developed for
distribution to architects.
Guidelines
Updates
The DFA solicited 232 public comments from AAHSA providers, AIA
members, interior designers, and researchers in environmental
design for aging for changes in Chapter 8 (Nursing Facilities) of
the 1992–1993 edition of Guidelines for Construction and
Equipment of Hospital and Medical Facilities. This outpouring
(more than one-third of all comments received about the entire
publication) caused the AIA Academy of Architecture for
Health’s Revision Steering Committee to appoint a special task
force (including ADRP and AAHSA representatives) to revise the
chapter and its appendix. As a result, a significantly improved
Chapter 8 appeared in the 1996–1997 edition of Guidelines
for Design and Construction of Hospital and Healthcare
Facilities. It presented important new performance-based
criteria aimed at enabling more flexible and innovative design
responses to functional needs and improving the quality of life for
residents and staffs of long-term care facilities. The DFA bore a
heavy responsibility for that publication, which was eagerly
received by the Health Care Financing Administration, the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and AAHSA
providers and regulators in 42 states that use the guidelines,
either as a basis for regulation or as a reference document.
For the 2001 edition of the Guidelines, the AIA Design for
Aging Center designated a current advisory group member as its
representative on the Guidelines Revision Committee. Through this
representative, the advisory group offered proposals for change and
comments on proposed revisions. As a consequence, the 2001 edition
provided further improvements to Chapter 8 on nursing facilities
and introduced new chapters on hospice care, assisted living, and
adult day care facilities.
In 2002, the DFA Advisory Group again joined with executives of the
Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI) and representatives of six
provider associations and consumer groups to explore the
possibility of having the AIA join with the FGI and the industry
organizations to develop a useful set of design guidelines for
assisted living facilities. In 2004, DFA’s representatives on
the Revision Committee for the 2006 edition of the
Guidelines achieved the abovementioned goal and other
long-sought breakthroughs. Working with those same industry
organizations, the DFA succeeded in gaining consensus among the
members of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee about
significant new text proposals for Chapters 13 (hospice care), 14
(assisted living), and 15 (adult day health care), all of which
shall now be included in proposed revisions to the
Guidelines.
Design
for Aging Network Directory
In 1993, the DFA published a directory of the 125 members of the
Design for Aging Network. Members came from a wide range of
professional disciplines, including architects, interior designers,
educators, researchers, manufacturers, care providers, occupational
therapists, and gerontologists. Approximately 750 copies of the
directory were distributed free to all network members, key
aging-related organizations in North America, and the libraries of
all schools of architecture and gerontology in the United States
and Canada.
Other
Activities
In addition to the above listed collaborations, the DFA has
consulted, explored liaisons, and considered potential joint
programs with many other organizations interested in the design and
construction of environments for aging, including but not limited
to:
• Society for the Advancement of Gerontological
Environments
• National Association of Home Builders
• National Center for Assisted Living of the American Health
Care Association
• Assisted Living Federation of America
• American Association of Retired Persons
• Alzheimer’s Association
• Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living
• American Seniors Housing Association
• Administration on Aging
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Assisted Living Workgroup
• Carpet and Rug Institute
• Contemporary Long Term Care Magazine
• Provider Magazine
• Nursing Homes/Long Term Care Management Magazine
• Health Facilities Management Magazine.
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