SHARING INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OR AN ORPHANAGE AND NURSING HOME COMMUNITY

• Main Author: A'yuni, Shobrina
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Arsitektur
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81461
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Orphanages and nursing homes are social institutions that provide shelter, care, and protection for two vulnerable groups in society. These two groups include children and the elderly who have been separated from their families, either because they have been abandoned or there are problems that arise that require them to receive special care in these two institutions. Living away from their families can cause sme differences in their lives. For children, going through a developmental period of life without their parents will be a difficult phase. During this period, not only the condition f their body changes, but also their psychological condition will undergo changes. These changes can affect their behavior and character towards the process of development in a social environment. Likewise, what happens to the elderly, during this vulnerable period, there are many changes that occur in their lives. In addition to experiencing physical changes related to aging, the elderly will find a decrease in psychological abilities. As the elderly age, they will also experience a decline in memory, making them more dependent on the people around them, especially people younger than their age. Therefore, in an effort to respond for some of the problems that occur in these two social institutions, the role of architecture that can be implemented is the integration of orphanages and nursing homes in the form of sharing intergenerational communities. The conditions of the twi generations in these two social institutions should be considered as mutually necessary and mutually beneficial if they are integrated in the same place. This integration not only creates an interaction between the two, but can also create a relationship between the two generations. This relationship will occur because they will have mutual interactions between individuals that can create a sense of understanding, familiarity, and kindship. This sharing intergenerational community is expected to provide significant social and emotional benefits to both groups. By providing a platform for interaction between the twi generations, the benefits of intergenerational activities can ameliorate the problems that often occur between the two generations. Furthermore, integrating the two homes can also create a more efficient use of facilities and resources, such as physical facilities, staff, funds, and land use. However, the merging of the two generations will present challenges. This is due to the different abilities and needs of the two generations, and thus the merging of the two generations requires a solution to this. According to Jaqueline Wendland (2023), the challenges that must be resolved lie in proper planning by considering the needs and abilities of each generation. Then, it is also necessary to provide adequate staff training as a supporting element for both generations. If these challenges are not successfully resolved, it can cause frustration in both generations and reinforce negative stereotypes between generations. There are three solutions offered in this project, namely the separation between children's and elderly housing, the unification of several space functions that can be used by children and the elderly, and the provision of supporting facilities as the presence of management functions in the building activity system. Then, three design issues emerged, namely well-being architecture for children, well-being architecture for the elderly, and integration between intergenerational communities. The first and second issues will be based on the theory of "Psychological Well-being" by Ryff (1989) and the theory of "Intergenerational Theory in a Community Context" by Jianbin Wu (2023) for the third issue. From these two theories, design criteria will emerge that must be met in the building. These criteria will be formulated in the form of alternative ideas in design. The location of the building site is chosen according to the criteria that must be present in these two homes. For the needs of children, it is required to have a close distance to educational facilities. Then, for the needs of the elderly, it is also required to have a close distance to health facilities. In terms of accessibility, the site can be easily reached by two-wheeled vehicles or more and also the site is passed by existing public transportation routes. The condition of the site has also been equipped with a variety of natural vegetation so that it supports the quality of the site.