Huddle

Premise

Img 1: Most urban spaces now are now incompatible with the old - A concept

Population Ageing- a phenomenon that was initially faced by the developed countries but the developing nations are catching up soon. The number of senior citizens (60 years and above) is estimated to increase from 901 million in 2015 to 1.4 billion in 2030 and 2.1 billion in 2050. On the other hand, urbanisation has been rapidly increasing leaving 55% of the total population now living in cities and is said to increase up to 68% over the coming decades as per the UN. 

As people grow older, depression and loneliness are regarded as the major problems that they face. This is a result of either living alone or a lack of close family ties and reduced connection with their culture of origin. 

This leads to making them unable to participate in community activities. With advancing age, people inevitably lose connection with their friendship networks. It also becomes more difficult to initiate new friendships and thus belong to new networks. 

This eventually leads to poor quality of life among the elderly. 

Ageing

Img 2: Different ways elderly spend time in their daily lives - A concept

An increase in the average median age of any country is indicative of higher standards of living. However, it has its cons. Because of urbanisation, more and more people have shifted to urban areas. 

However, these areas don’t guarantee the well-being of the old. Most of the public centric functions and spaces prevailing or proposed don’t necessarily cater to the needs of the elderly. Many of them are not even easily accessible. There are hardly any places proposed where the elderly can perform activities of his/her choice/hobbies/liking. 

This creates a distorted distribution of accessible public spaces in relevance to the changing demographics of our world. How do we begin to untangle such a huge problem?

Issue

Img 3: Ageing msn trying to cope with changing technology.

An ageing population indicates any country’s advancement in science and technology, and higher standards of living. Any country’s advancement is a sheer result of the actions and decisions taken by the retired people of today when they were the youth of the country. However, when the citizens retire, they are often considered an economic burden to society. 

This forces us to wonder if there’s a need to care about the retired? 

The modern-day cities lack senior-friendly places. In such a situation, a logical question arises, what will they do in a time when technology changes so quickly and when all means of leisure are largely inaccessible? Are there any ways to tackle the issue of isolation among the old? 

Brief

Img 4: Senior people enjoying their picnic together - An illustrative image

With the progressing age, it becomes more difficult to interact with new people and to make new connections. The problem further aggravates in cities of today, where urban development many a time sideline this understated need. 

 

In such a scenario, how can architecture be used as a tool to propose solutions to cater to the issues of isolation at an old age? How can public places become more inviting and accessible to the percentage of the population that will be turning over 60 in the future? 

Being old, one priceless thing they possess is their experience. How can architecture create spaces that can increase the interaction of the elderly with the youth or children to share their experiences? 

Objectives

Participants keep in mind the culture of the city to propose programs such that they are tailor-made for the given context.

Interaction space: Ensures interaction among the elderly.

Experience sharing: Ensures interaction of various age groups with the elderly

The given site for intervention is inside an existing public park. Hence, the typology of intervention chosen will be very critical. 

Accessibility: Easily accessible for the elderly. 

Minimal: Ensure minimum impact to the public park.

Munich- Germany

Germany has become a country of long life. Currently, about 25 percent of the population has turned over 60 and it is estimated to increase upto 33 percent by 2050. Today, the life expectancy of a newborn boy in Germany is 78 years and that of a newborn girl is 83 years. 

This indicates that today’s older people here are mostly healthier and better educated than the generations before. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is the most populous city in Bavaria and is the third-largest city of Germany. Bavaria holds the second-largest percentage increase of people (accounting to 47.3 percentage increase from 1990 to 2014) over 65 years as per research conducted in 2016.  

User

To design for such a demographic in any part of the world, it becomes very important to first understand their lifestyle. Re-weaving the elderly into our urban spaces of today needs a fresh thought process where we are finding new avenues to spark dialogues between them and society. 

As per detailed research conducted by the ‘German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs’ *, many findings suggest that there is an increasing thirst for knowledge in the older generation. Due to this, a large percentage of people over 60 years in Germany increasingly avail offers at universities and adult education centers. 

Besides this, they also use their free time to travel and participate in volunteer activities. Besides this, young families, associations, churches and other social projects/institutions can rely on the experiences and support of the older people. 

Site Plan

Area: 4640 m2 

Site coordinates: 48°08'57.8"N 11°35'11.2"E 

Max Builtup Area: 700 m2 

No minimum area requirement, No height restrictions

The site chosen for intervention is a part of an Englischer Garten that lies next to Maxvorstadt. Maxvorstadt is the university district of Munich and is also home to a lot of galleries and major cultural sights. The designed intervention within the existing public park should ensure minimum impact to the park but still serve as a place to huddle old age people as well as the youth.