eco-com.60+ "Communal living for elderly - ecological, social and economical aspects"

The research project examines different forms of communal living of elderly people and contributes to the development of new, common forms of living for the elderly. Questions concerning demographic change and economic as well as ecologic challenges of our time are dealt with.

Titel und Synopse

eco-com.60+ "Neues Wohnen im Alter-ökologisch, gemeinschaftsorientiert und finanzierbar"

Das Forschungsprojekt untersucht die Wohnformen älterer Menschen und soll zur Entwicklung neuer, gemeinschaftlicher Wohnformen für Ältere beitragen. Fragen zum demografischen Wandel und zu ökonomischen und ökologischen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit werden untersucht.


Project description / tasks

Status

ongoing

Summary

Starting point / motivation

The demographic change cannot be stopped. People are getting older and older.

In Vienna and all over Austria elderly people are more and more engaged to find alternatives to the conventional homes for the elderly. The answer of the Viennese municipality is: "Everyone can stay in his flat as long as possible. Mobile services like home-nurses, taxi-drivers, therapeutic-sisters, hair-dressers etc. are coming for care and support to each elder person, who needs them." They go by car through the whole city. They spent a lot of time, distances and money in doing their work.

When family is gone, the elder persons live lonely and alone in much too big flats or family-houses. A lot of energy and money is wasted.

Contents and goals

Young oldies (60+) do not want to get in this situation and prefer living in a community together with others (flat-share or house-community). Each one wants to have its own small unit, but together they want to have dining-rooms, guestrooms and balconies or terraces. This eco-com. 60+ project seems to be more sustainable, energy-efficient, friendly and less expensive. The inhabitants promote mutual care and nevertheless a "good, secure life" to each other.

"Living_together_apart" is also a thesis of this project.

When the community eco-com. 60+ will be integrated in houses (for example during a renovation) this would be a profit as for the inhabitants as for the public.

In this project it should be worked out, if this thesis is right and how hugh are the benefits in sight of building ecology, human ecology and economic questions. The savings of time, distances and recources should be also valued like the "surplus", which could grow in a living community.

Methods of treatment

Experiences of living in a community eco-com. 60+ in Austria and abroad will be collected and discussed in workshop-1. Also, future inhabitants (in flat-sharing interested people) should be invited, so that the importance and necessity of this research-project is more pointed out.

There is a research of the following scenarios (situated in a special quarter of Vienna) planned:

  1. Living in a family flat, alone (present situation)
  2. Living in a family flat, alone (situation 2020 and 2050)
  3. Living in a community eco-com. 60+ (situation 2020 and 2050).

The performance of the urban environment should also be perceived (density, shops, traffic, parks etc.).

The following parameters are selected for a data collection:

  • building ecology
  • human-ecology
  • economy.

A statistical approach in sight of subjective and objective impressions of the inhabitants living conditions will also be worked out. Also, the implantation of a new money system (for small communities) to force each-others help should be discussed.

A concurrent analysis will show the benefits and losses of A, B, C and should work out, that the energy performance of C is e.g. much better than of A or B (the same should be done with the other parameters).

The collection of the results is planned first and a discussion about the results will follow in workshop-2.

Finally, a critera catalog will be created together with a housing organisation with the aim to start a pilot-project. It will be also necessary to set up an agency to inform and bring together interested people.

Expected results / conclusions

The project-results will provide an important contribution towards the climate change, the demographic change and will give answers to the economic challenges in this time and in the future.


Project partners

Projektleiter

Univ. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Ardeshir Mahdavi
Technische Universität Wien, Institut für Architekturwissenschaften

Projekt- und Kooperationspartner

  • Wohnbauvereinigung für Privatangestellte wbv-gpa, Mag. Michael Gehbauer
  • MA 7 - Wissenschaftsfonds, Univ. Prof. Dr. Hubert Ehalt

Contact address

Technische Universität Wien, Institut für Architekturwissenschaften
Univ. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Ardeshir Mahdavi
Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Freya Brandl
Karlsplatz 13 / E 259-3, A-1041 Wien
Tel.: +43 (1) 58801-27201
Fax: +43 (1) 58801-27299
E-Mail: bpi@tuwien.ac.at


FFG ID: 822187

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