| Title |
Knowledge Producers and Users' Perception to the Significance of Silver-town Design Elements |
| Keywords |
Silver-town ; Aging ; Design Guideline |
| Abstract |
This study explores the perceived significance gap between knowledge producers and users in terms of silver-town design elements. Utilized data here were collected by two step procedures. At the first step, mail-out questionnaires(168) were sent to professors in architecture and architects with the membership of The Korean Institute of Healthcare Architecture. Seventy-two questionnaires were returned(42.6% return rate). At the second step, on-site interviews to the elderly in 4 silver towns were conducted by pre-trained researchers. In addition, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the staff members. Thirty three questionnaires were returned. The collected data were sorted by two categories: (1) the outdoor space; and (2) the indoor space of silver towns. Then the data were analyzed under four subcategories: (1) general elements of architecture(safety, parking and service flow); (2) biological aging; (3) psychological aging; and (4) sociological aging elements. The perceived significance on architectural solutions related to one general feature of architecture and three aspects of aging was evaluated. This study found that architectural specialists were more likely to perceive the significance of responding to three aspects of aging than users. Comparatively, users more emphasized the significance of general features of architecture such as safety. They also perceived that the way to secure privacy is an important concern in silver town design. In conclusion, it is necessary to bridge the perceived significance gap between architectural specialists and users related to silver towns, while concerning the aspects of aging and general architectural features. |