evolve evaluation of older people's living environments Alan Lewis University of Manchester Housing LIN Extra Care Housing Conference 8 th December 2011

Judith Torrington, Kevin McKee, Sarah Barnes, Alan Lewis, Alison Orrell, Ann Netten, Robin Darton, Jaquetta Holder

evolve - summary Study of emerging forms of extra care housing – To evaluate and identify best practice – Use of Department of Health funded ECH schemes and PSSRU evaluation as vehicles – Extend frame to include private sector and remodelled schemes Produce a building evaluation tool – The tool is based on SCEAM, an evaluation tool for residential care buildings that emerged from the Design in Caring Environments project – The tool can be used across the range of housing for older people – The tool can be used to evaluate scheme designs, as a design guide, as a post- occupancy evaluation tool, or to assess a house for an individual Carry out a quality of life study of people living in extra care housing Pilot and test the tool in 23 extra care schemes Produce a final version for wide dissemination

Developing the evolve tool

qualitative findings Residents expressed high levels of overall satisfaction with their buildings, but there was a lot of criticism of the detailed design Movement around the schemes is difficult if travel distances are too long and lift provision is inadequate Independent living is compromised by building elements that do not take account of reduced strength, flexibility and dexterity Standards of space and storage provision are often felt to be inadequate Barriers to independence included poor kitchen design and problems in washing and drying clothes Extra care buildings are generally too hot, poorly ventilated, and lights in communal areas are left on all night.

toolkit 997

Socialising

Dignity

“...you can have your privacy when you want it because you’ve got your own home, independent living...” Female

Physical Support

Alan Lewis Extra Care Housing for People with Sight Loss: Lighting and Design Issues

Aims of the Study Do extra-care schemes meet current design guidance on lighting? Do extra-care schemes satisfy the needs of residents with visual impairments? Methodology Survey of 11 existing extra-care housing schemes made using adapted EVOLVE tool Semi-structured interviews conducted with 44 people (most with sight loss) living in extra-care housing

Adapted EVOLVE Tool – Key Sources Specialist Design Guidance Housing for People with Sight Loss (Thomas Pocklington Trust, 2008) Building Sight (RNIB, 1995) General Design Guidance Lighting Guide 9: Lighting for communal residential buildings (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, 1997) Code for Sustainable Homes (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2010) The Extra Care Housing Toolkit (Department of Health, 2007)

“When it gets dark this central light isn't enough in here, you don't get enough to sit at the table and write.” Female, age 78 years

“I like the fact that I can control the, the level of light to suit me and my mood changes... [sometimes] I want everything on up bright, other times when I've got a bit of an eye ache and I want to, want to sit down and, you know, rest my eyes I will have the lighting right down dim and only, and only side lights” Male, age 50 years

“ I use the side lights… I don't often use [the ceiling light] …it makes my eyes ache ” Female, age 100 years

Daylight

Source: Design Principles for Extra Care – Housing LIN Factsheet 6, PRP Architects, 2004

“ I would have liked, would have liked a window there, in the, the kitchen ” Female, age 76 years “The room is dark...to get dressed, choosing colours, I often have to walk towards the light to get a true, true picture.” Female, age 66 years

Aspect Percentage of lounge windows with view of: - natural features = 80% - human activity = 76% - near + far features = 46%

Aspect “I can see when it’s a strong wind I can see those trees moving and there’s activity… I know everybody gets fed up with the wind but it’s a friend to me, seeing it move those trees.” Male, age 88 years

“...when my husband died I felt that this was a little prison… so in a sense I think that window was a bit of a lifeline, that, although there wasn't an awful lot to see there was another world out there.” Female, age 66 years

Colour and contrast

“I like the bright, I've got like a terra, bright terracotta colouring band around my, on the tiles around my bathroom, yeah, I, I like that because I can see the boundaries of the, of the room.” Male, age 50 years

Safety

“I'm not keen on electric to be honest with you, I suppose it's safest, than gas because you, I had to put my hand over it to see whether it were on.” Female, age 77 years

Conclusion There is scope for improvements to current guidance on housing design for people with sight loss More recommendations from ‘specialist’ design guidance should be incorporated into ‘mainstream’ design guidance