DESIgn for all methods to cREate age-friendly housing (DESIRE)

PROJECT TITLE: DESIgn for all methods to cREate age-friendly housing (DESIRE)
PROJECT LEADER: Nejc Šarabon, PhD
PERIOD: 01.12.2020 – 31.01.2023
BUDGET: €232,570.00 (€35,689.00 for InnoRenew CoE)
FINANCING: EU, Erasmus +
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (Slovakia)
PARTNERS: Institute of Ethnology Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia); Asociacion Empresarial de Investigacion Centro Tecnologico del Muebley la Madera de la Region de Murcia (Spain); SHINE2EUROPE, LDA (Portugal); InnoRenew CoE (Slovenia)

Europe is ageing. Projections foresee that the number of people over 65 is expected to grow 28.5 percent by 2050. According to the World Health Organization, physical and social environments are key determinants of whether people can remain healthy, independent and autonomous long into their old age, which makes housing is an important factor in active and healthy ageing. However, a large part of the EU’s housing stock has not been designed to accommodate the needs of older people.

D4All is a tool that ensures accessibility, well-being and health (physical and mental) for older adults and enables conscious use of the needs analysis as required by end-user involvement (i.e., human-centered design).

DESIRE aims to provide building industry and home furnishings professionals with tools and skills to integrate D4All methods in the design process to create or adapt age-friendly housing for the well-being, comfort and autonomy of older adults or dependents at home. In addition, the project will use restorative environmental and ergonomic design (REED) in order to detect interactions between humans and the built environment.

InnoRenew CoE project activities

InnoRenew CoE will contribute its knowledge of REED. In the project’s educational materials development phase, InnoRenew CoE’s kinesiology, ergonomics, physiology and psychology researchers will comprehensively address the subject of physical and mental health in the built environment. In addition, InnoRenew CoE researchers will work on methodology and ensure that the developed educational program is systematically and thoroughly verified for the value of users.