Already, architects and designers are actively developing technologies and techniques to make older people feel comfortable and cozy, both in their home and in a medical institution (whether it be a sanatorium or a nursing home). Some initiatives to improve the lives of an aging population have already demonstrated their benefits, others have yet to be developed.
Architects are already designing a new type of community for retirees. For example, in Portugal a couple of years ago they completed the construction of a social complex of the company Guedes Cruz. It has 52 residences, poured out of concrete with plexiglass facades. This specialized village provides everything from special lighting to various amenities that can be used by people aged. In an emergency, an elderly person can press the panic button, which activates a special signal and a luminous lamp on the roof of the house to alert neighbors.
Paris has a retirement community that has homes for Alzheimer’s patients. They are designed specifically to meet the emotional needs of tenants.
But architects and designers would not be able to create their fully comfortable homes for the elderly and decorate the interiors of nursing homes with great efficiency if it were not for firms that develop specialized gadgets. Several startups are producing special medical equipment that is thought out specifically for the needs of the elderly. At the moment, many companies are producing handrails for homes for the elderly, special beds, mobile devices, and even the development of companion robots for the elderly. There are also devices to make it easier for people to read or watches that remind them to take their medication. Certain systems enable remote care for patients and family members. All this is done in order to allow a person in old age to feel calm, free and not to fall under someone else’s custody.