Title |
An Analysis on Rural Housing Standard Plans for the Elderly based on Case Studies of Elderly Housing in Rural Area |
Keywords |
Rural Housing Standard Plans ; Elderly People's Needs ; Foyer Planning ; Bathroom Planning ; Storage Planning ; |
Abstract |
The objective of this paper is to investigate problems associated with Rural Housing Standard Plans for the Elderly based on the current status of 12 houses belonging to elderly people (60's and over) living in rural areas and engaged in farming activities, and to suggest improvements. The methods employed were a field survey with interviews and literature review. The results are as follows. First, the Plans were deemed inappropriate to prevent the possible accidents in entrance area such as slippiness and falls because the eaves are not long enough. Second, the area of foyer and the volume of foyer storage in the Plans are not enough to accommodate the subject's behaviors and their rural life. Third, rather than using the sink, many subjects preferred to wash simply in the shower while sitting, so the planning of a bathroom can't meet the subject's needs and behaviors. Fourth, the subjects prefer L + DK to LDK but the Plans were designed in the manner of LDK only. Fifth, the subjects have needs for bathrooms belong to the master bedrooms, but only one case of Plans satisfied their needs. Six, bedrooms with the exception of the master bedroom are used as storage in order to make up for a lack of storage space, but many storage space such as dressing rooms and pantries was not taken into consideration in the Plans. Lastly, the planning of storehouses does not meet the subjects' using behaviors for storehouses and the level of desirable capacity of goods |