Resilience defined as the capacity of a system to manage impacts, keep its efficiency and continue its development has been scrutinized by researchers from different points of view over the past decades. Due to the prominence of resilience in urban planning, this paper intends to find out how the spatial structure of cities deals with disturbances, and if geographical phenomena such as rivers affect the resilience in cities. Using the space syntax methods syntactically analyze the resilience in cities, we innovatively introduce two measures; similarity and sameness. These measures are in relation with the syntactical properties of cities and compare the degree of resilience between different groups. Similarity measures the degree to which each city retains the relative magnitude of its foreground network after a disturbance and sameness is the degree to which each city retains the same segments as its foreground network after a disturbance. Likewise to network resilience studies, we apply different disturbances on cities and explore the reaction of cities to disturbances in terms of size of the foreground network and which segments are parts thereof. We then compare different groups based on these measurements as a method to analyze sameness and similarity. The results show that the resilience, in the way we define it, is different in different cities depending on in which view and based on which parameters we are discussing the resilience. Additionally morphological phenomena such as rivers have a great impact on the structure of cities and in turn on their resilience.

In the context of an ageing world, theories on welfare regimes as well as their influence on architecture for ageing come of relevance. The key mechanism in these theories is the perceived level of decommodification in society, i.e. various financial measures that the individual subject initiates personally in order to prepare for different stages in his/ her life: bringing up children, education, health and sickness, professional career or retiring from professional life. One concrete measure is special accommodations for dependent and frail older people, here termed residential care homes (RCH). Decommodification is supposedly most developed in welfare regimes originating from social democratic values, similar to Nordic countries, like Denmark, Norway and Sweden. During the 20^th century, these countries have used architectural competitions in order to harmonize socio-political ideals with the architectural realization of RCHs. The present study explores the organizational forms of 77 architectural competitions that were organized in these countries during the period 2000-2011. A sub-sample of 9 competition programmes, three from each country, were analyzed concerning the presence of welfare goals and other prerequisites for the design task in the programming brief. The sample was assembled through key word searches in open and restricted databases. Based on the full sample, restricted competitions appeared as the most used form for RCH competitions. The sub-sample suggested that language and ideological capital, originating from the realization of the Nordic welfare state, adds an additional restriction. Hence, the overall conclusion suggests that that existing socio-political ideals for architecture for the dependent and frail aging process tends to block the integration of international findings on universal space for ageing well. 

In Sweden, the search for an appropriate space for accommodating dependent older people can be associated with the construction of the development of the modern welfare society. Despite different political paradigms, the notion of a comfortable ageing process in a familiar home environment, complemented by individualized caregiving, has become the dominant idea for architecture for the frail ageing process. This study explores the evolution of this particular aesthetics by examining six architectural competitions that were organized during the period from 1907 to 2012. These competitions served as research material. The documentation of each of these competitions was subjected to a close-reading and drawing-analysis procedure. Being national, these competitions forged the positive connotations of the locus of home into aesthetical criteria for a normative homelikeness, which was implemented by the Swedish municipalities. In the course of time, homelikeness has changed from an emotional understanding into an approach for architectural critique. Based on the six competitions, this study postulates that the aesthetics of homelikeness involves the following aspects: 1) small-scale buildings with interior space that is designed for communal or individual usage; 2) small-scale buildings in a large-scale configuration with space for individual and communal use; 3) integration in and location to surrounding areas for residential use; 4) exploration of sensory aspects of the indoor and the outdoor environment that the architectural design created; and 5) architectural design promoting the individual process of appropriating it into becoming a locus of home.

This doctoral thesis deals with the type of architecture that materializes when age-related problems become a long-term condition (LTC) and gradually restrain the individual’s ability to perform activities in daily life (ADL). Their life situation necessitates a support from relatives or municipal eldercare staff in order for them to continue to participate in everyday living. In addition, the architectural space requires a close adjustment to the personal panorama of cognitive or functional impairments. The habitat can be a flat appropriated many years previously or in a residential care home for dependent and frail seniors. Architecture for ageing with dependency demonstrates how space can be used either to affirm or oppress the older person’s attempts to maintain an independent life style. By use of design theory, case study methodology and a heterogeneous research strategy, this study uses a threefold approach—a retrospective, a contemporaneous, and a future-oriented approach—to explore frail older people’s interaction with the architectural space of residential care homes. This has resulted in seven papers that focus on aspects of these human interactions with the built environment. Based on twelve exemplary models, the research paper I concludes that national guidelines result in a homelike, a hotel-like or a hospital-like environment. Research paper II is a retrospective study that examines the use of architecture competitions as a socio-political instrument to define architectural guidelines. Research paper III focuses on dependent seniors’ spatial appropriation of the communally shared space of a ward in a residential care home. Research paper IV employs two environmental assessment methods from the architecture profession and gerontological research (TESS-NH) in order to evaluate the use of interior colouring when refurbishing two residential care homes while the residents remained in place. Research paper V displays a municipal organizer’s considerations to opt for an architecture competition as a means of renewing architecture for the ageing population. Research paper VI examines competition documentation of three municipal architecture competitions organized during the period of 2006 to 2009. Research paper VII, the final study, explores notions concerning the appropriate space for ageing found among a group of municipal representatives, and people from organizations defending older people’s right. It supplies a model for understanding the appropriate space for ageing. This study illustrates the absence of older people with frailties in the public discussion about appropriate architecture for ageing. During the 20th century, the multi-dimensional idea of an architectural space with a homelike appearance has been used to contrast the negatively charged opposite—the complete and austere institution. The overarching conclusion of this study is that architecture for dependent and frail seniors constitutes a particular type of built space that requires an extended dialogue involving dependent seniors, architects, building contractors and care planners in order to conceive appropriate architecture for the ageing society.

In 2012, three architectural competitions were held as part of the strategic programme 'Living Well, Growing Old', launched by the Swedish government in 2010. The intention was to use the innovative quality of the architectural competition in order to conceive future-oriented built environments for the ageing Swedish society. In Sweden, several architectural competitions with a focus on space for dependent and frail older people have been organised over the past century. Architectural design has been incorporated into reforms for social care of older people. This study focuses on the relationship between architecture and sociopolitical visions in three architectural competitions, realised in 1997, 1948 and 1979. The study demonstrates that architectural competitions within this field are more than a list of functional and spatial requirements for architects to respect. Instead, they are socio-political statements that define spatial frameworks within an ideological view on how ethically to provide care for dependent and frail older people in a welfare regime.

In the context of an ageing world, the theory of welfare regimes as well as the type of architecture that is an outcome of the influence of this theory becomes pertinent. It is based on the perceived level of decommodification in society, i.e. various financial measures that the individual has to initiate in order to prepare for different stages in life: bringing up children, education, health and sickness, professional career, and retirement. Residential care homes (RCH) accommodate elderly and dependent persons. The highest level of decommodification is found in the social-democratic welfare regime represented by the three Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The present study explores the programming of RCH in these countries and the architectonic conception of the same by use of architecture competitions. The research material includes competitions realized during the period of 2000 to 2011, and the sample has been accumulated through internet searches. The competition documentation has been subjected to “close reading.” The full sample, consisting of 78 competitions, has allowed for establishing the organizational forms that are used in the three Nordic competitions. A sub-sample of nine competition programs, three from each country, has permitted a detailed analysis of the design assignment. The preliminary conclusion of the study suggests that the socio-political ideas that adhere to the realization of the welfare regime and the resulting type of architecture for ageing with dependency are maintained at the expense of the integration into the system of international findings on a universal space for ageing.

Since mid 19th century, approximately seventy-two architecture competitions have been organized in Sweden with a focus on space for dependent senior persons. On three occasions, in 1907, 1948 and in 1979, these competitions were used to promote new architectural thinking and to prepare for a reform of existing social legislation. Starting with two research questions—firstly, what kind of architectural space did the competition documents of these competitions (competition briefs, jury assessment reports and submitted competition entries) define as appropriate for eldercare; and, secondly, did the use of the architecture competition renew thinking about appropriate space for frail older people—this study explores the architectonic realization and the political vision for social work. The study argues the presence of a link between the competition documentations and the ruling welfare typology at the time of the competition. The architecture competition defined guidelines consistent with these paradigms concerning the appropriate space and social work for ageing with chronic conditions. These guidelines designated small-scaled architecture with homelike connotations as the appropriate one for ageing with frailties. The study lends support to an overarching conclusion that the architecture competition influences cultural beliefs about social work and space for dependent ageing since the competition brief encapsulates a political vision that the participating architects interpret spatially. This has led to the progressive realization during the 20th century of the individualized space for dependent seniors.

Often described as frozen music, architecture functions as a fixation agent for contemporaneous or past thinking on appropriate space for embarking on or ending a journey. This type of architecture becomes visual to its essence. It interacts with the human capacity of seeing in order to be perceived correctly. The spatial design describes the progression from the immobile built environment, which surrounds the embarkation space, to the means of transportation: air planes, buses or trains.

Orientational cues inside the embarkation space may give people with cognitive or functional disabilities some indication on how to access the infrastructure. These cues include colour coding, tactile cues, illumination and signage. These are supposed to facilitate way-finding from various key points in the embarkation space like from the entrance to the check-in counter, or to assisted services. Sound insulation is often overlooked as an orientational cue, thus, creating a vibrant soundscape of callouts, voices and mechanical installations.

Tactile cues may inhibit or promote this user group’s independent use of this type of space: Fixed to the built environment, tactile cues become subject to conflicting interests due to maintenance and usage of the embarkation space. The present study investigates the effectiveness of orientational cues in architecture for mobility. The study was based on a literature review of 200 scientific papers. These papers were extracted by use of key word searches in four databases (Ebsco, Jstor, Sciencedirect and Scopus). The study proposes a set of conclusions, which tactile cues in architectural space for mobility have to respect in order to be useful for people with visual impairments.

Often described as frozen music, architecture functions as a fixation agent for contemporaneous or past thinking on appropriate space for embarking on or ending a journey. The underlying conceptualization of this space relies on study visits to exemplary models or meticulous studies of drawings of space for mobility. This type of architecture becomes visual to its essence. It interacts with the human capacity of seeing in order to be perceived correctly. The spatial design describes the progression from the immobile built environment, which surrounds the embarkation space, to the means of transportation: air planes, buses or trains.

Orientational cues inside the embarkation space give indication on how to access the infrastructure. This includes colour coding, illumination and signage. Sound insulation as an orientational cues is often neglected, thus, creating a vibrant soundscape of callouts, voices and mechanical installations. In order to help people with reduced sight or visual impairments, tactile cues are integrated in the flooring. These are supposed to facilitate way-finding from various key points in the embarkation space like from the entrance to the check-in counter, or to assisted services.

The present study investigates the effectiveness of tactile cues in architecture for mobility. The study is based on interviews with people with visual problems and their experiences of Swedish architecture for mobility. This group of people often associate tactile cues with ambiguous spatial interpretations. Fixed to the built environment, tactile cues are subject to conflicting interests in maintenance and use of the embarkation space, which may inhibit or promote this user group’s independent use of this type of space. The study proposes a set of conclusions that tactile cues have to respect in order to be useful for people with visual impairments. 

Age is a delicate matter, but the Swedish welfare state is ageing and has an increasingly larger propor-tion of elderly people, about 19 per cent (Sweden Statistics, 2014). Since the election campaign in 2006, the matter of appropriate housing and caregiving for older frail persons has been a reoccurring item on the political agenda. Governmental delegations and programmes have ventured out into the great unknown territory of architectural experiences and age-related problems. However, one existing residential care home, in the following RCH, pops up as an exemplary and universal model for architec-ture and the frail ageing process, the residential care home of Vigs Ängar.Initiated as a mutual initiative in the early 1990s, between a local anthroposophical interest group and the municipality of Ystad, Sweden, its creation and existence describe a troublesome tension between legal frameworks, managerial systems for eldercare, facility management and idealistic visions for fu-ture-oriented caregiving. Despite a 20 year existence, this exemplary model has resulted in few similar facilities, both architecture-wise and eldercare-wise. Instead, a large number of national and interna-tional study visits have turned the building along with caregiving into an open smorgasbord consisting of architectural elements or therapeutic approaches, subject to free sampling and tasting. To some extent, the anthroposophical label has clouded the resilient approach in architectural design and care-giving for the frail stages in life.The focus of this paper was to go behind semantics and unravel the generating images that constitute the fundamental reason for the exemplary status of the RCH in question. Critical analysis has been applied as a research method in order to scrutinize documents and drawings that originate from the design process. Random conversations and interviews with various informants associated with the RCH, among which the architect, have been executed over the period 2007-2013. This study suggests that the key factor in this successful realization of an RCH is the solid idea for a resilient architecture. This idea encompasses both ephemeral and tangible experiences of space that structure both the older person’s quality in life as well as the individual staff member’s satisfaction with the work envi-ronment. In that sense, the RCH of Vigs Ängar is more of a spatial sensation than an anthroposophical epiphany.

In 2006 the Swedish government allocated funding for the construction of new residential homes for frail elderly seniors. The number of flats available had dropped by fifteen per cent. Swedish architecture for residential homes is instructed by conceptual guidelines that foreground the ideal of home-likeness: The flats in residential homes are like flats in ordinary housing complexes but with the distinction that a partition of space for preparing meals and socializing is transferred to a communal space. The National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) have detected a lack of statistics concerning residential homes. Moreover, the influence of the guidelines on the realized architecture has never been evaluated. Based on a sample of twelve exemplary residential homes this study analyses the impact of the guidelines on architectural space. Three design scenarios have been identified that suggest that the guidelines create an environment that could be described as home-like, hotel-like or hospital-like.

Hur kan man skapa den bästa miljön på ett äldreboende? Hur kan man förvandla det institutionella intrycket till en miljö som man kan trivas som hemma i? / How to create the best possible environment for frail older people in residential housing? How to convert the institutional impression to an environment in which you experience homelikeness?: Byggandet av framtidssäkra äldreboenden och exempel på evidensbaserad design. / The building of future-oriented residential housing and examples of evidence-based design.

The quest to make Sweden accessible for all has a long tradition. Stemmingfrom initiatives of charitable organisations in the early 20th century,accessibility became a physical requirement through the Swedish buildingact of the 1960s. It promoted a type of physical barrier-free architecturefor the welfare state. The socio-political ambitions of the 1970s propelledSweden to become a world-leading nation in the creation of equalopportunities and social inclusion. Architectural design was expected tomeet the demands of people with cognitive, physical or sensory disabilitiesand, on signing the UN convention on equal rights for persons withdisabilities in 2007, existing legislative frameworks were complementedwith additional guidelines on removing physical barriers. By focusing onthe national tripartite definition of accessibility, Sweden has paid littleattention to the development of the universal design concept. Instead,accessibility has been associated with the elusive concept of usability inorder to promote a user-environment fit. Since 2013, the increasing shortageof housing in densely populated areas has impeded work to createan accessible and inclusive welfare state and has fostered the notionthat accessibility increases building costs. This study provides an overviewof the Swedish development of accessibility in order to promoteparticipation and social inclusion by removing physical barriers in thebuilt environment and introducing user-oriented assistive technologies.

Kommunala besluts- och planeringsprocesser omfattar till olika grad särskilda åtgärder (kompensation), som syftar till att moderera konsekvenserna av en föreslagen förändring på befintliga värden i kultur- eller naturmiljö. Förutom det etablerade samrådsförfarandet, som beskrivs i Plan- och Bygglagen, PBL (SFS 2010:900), aktiveras två andra lagrum, dels Kulturmiljölagen, KML (SFS1988:950), som värnar värden i kulturmiljöer, dels Miljöbalken, MB (SFS1998:808), som skyddar värden i naturmiljöer. Medan PBL och KML hanterar kulturmiljövärden under allmänna skrivningar om hänsyn och varsamhet i förhållande till omgivande bebyggelse, innehåller MB tydliga föreskrifter att påtagliga skador på riksintressanta kultur- och naturmiljövärden ska balanseras genom kompensatoriska strategier. Denna obalans skapar en otydlighet i hanteringen av kulturmiljövärden i kommunala besluts- och planeringsprocesser.

     Inom ramen för ett forskningsprojekt kring begreppen kompensation och styrmedel, finansierat under 2014 av Riksantikvarieämbetet, RÄA, inbjöds sju planerare med erfarenhet av kommunal planering till en workshop för att diskutera begreppens innebörd närmare. Workshoppen genomfördes på Arkitekturskolan, KTH, och i diskussionen deltog även åtta deltagare, knutna till forskningsprojektet. Deltagarnas professionella bakgrund var en form av en arkitektkompetens: 4 deltagare var utbildade till arkitekt med specialisering på hus- eller stadsbyggnad, 2 landskapsarkitekter, 1ingenjör, 2 deltagare var arkeologer samt 1 bebyggelseantikvarie. Fem deltagare hade forskarkompetens inom arkeologi, arkitektur och samhällsplanering. Syftet med workshoppen var att diskutera praktikens förståelse av begreppen i olika kommunal besluts- och planeringsprocesser. Som ett pedagogiskt exempel användes besluts- och planeringsprocessen för åren 2009-2013 kring Ångfärjestationen i Helsingborg, belägen i Stortorgets förlängning och med utsikt över sundet. Kompensation och styrmedel diskuterades under 5 timmar i två olika sammanhang, dels deltagarnas egna tidigare erfarenheter av sådana kompensatoriska åtgärder, dels speglat genom den utvalda skånska fallstudien.

     Workshoppen ger underlag för fem huvudsakliga slutsatser kring kompensation och styrmedel i samband med kulturmiljövärde i kommunala besluts- och planeringsprocesser: (1) Begreppen är beroende av ett sammanhang, en kontext, för att bli användbara och operationella. (2) Kompensation och styrmedel är mindre kända i förhållande till besluts- och planeringsprocesser, som handlar om ingrepp i bebyggelsemiljöer med kulturmiljövärden. (3) Kompensation och styrmedel avseende kulturmiljö behöver skräddarsys genom ett scenariotänkande, som lyfter fram konsekvenser av att anpassa eller bevara kulturmiljövärden i en förändringssituation. (4) Kompensation och styrmedel hänger samman med en problematik som måste bearbetas från de tidigaste skedena av en kommunal besluts- och planeringsprocess. (5) Kompensation sträcker sig från att vara rena ekonomiska transaktioner för förlust av värden till sin enklaste form, till att bli kompensatoriska styrmedel, som detaljerar användning och utformning av bebyggelse inom en intressant kulturmiljö på en övergripande nivå. 

Befolkningsprognoser framtill 2060 visar på en förändring i sammansättningen av befolkningen, där antalet personer i arbetsförålder minskar medan andelen äldre personer med ett möjligt ökande behov av omsorg och vård ökar. Det är ett pågående fenomen att andelen personer 65 år och äldre i befolkningen ökar i de flesta länder. I Europa intar Grekland, Italien och Tyskland tätplatserna med 19-20 procent av befolkningen. Sverige ligger på en fjärde plats med 18 procent. Övriga europeiska länder ligger några procentenheter lägre, mellan 11 till 17 procent, och de följer de förberedelser som de fyra länderna i täten vidtar på tröskeln till ett samhälle som karakteriseras av en stor andel personer i de övre åldersgrupperna. Ett sådant land är Spanien, där gruppen äldre personer 65 år och uppåt uppgår till ca 17 procent av befolkningen. Den demografiska förändringen i Spanien kommer att bli större än de prognoser som görs för Sverige: beroendeförhållandet (antal äldre person jämfört med personer i arbetsförålder) år 2050 uppskattas till 58,7 i Spanien mot 41,9 i Sverige.

In western society, the homelike architecture is acknowledged as the ideal space for a dependent and older person. The realization of this space can be achieved by use of guidelines. These can be precise requirements to realize generally or conceptual criteria to reinvent individually. The open guideline creates a dilemma when an architecture competition is organized: The writing of a competition brief forces the organizer to define a preliminary set of goals for the participating architects to contemplate, but it equips this actor with preconceived views on what to be accomplished. In the competition situation, the main objective of the brief is to generate design solutions that go beyond the organizer’s expectation. Sweden uses open guidelines for space intended for dependent and frail people.

This paper has three purposes: I) to investigate how three public stakeholders prepare and structure their competition briefs for use in competitions focusing on the habitat for the older frail people and housing for senior citizens; II) to explore the participating architects’use of the competition brief; and III) to study the link between the brief and the jury assessment report. During the period 2000 to 2009, three public stakeholders organized architecture competitions that focused either on housing for dependent older frail people or on residential architecture for senior citizens with few frailties. These competitions constitute three case studies.

This paper draws seven preliminary conclusions: The successful competition brief conveys the organizer’s intentions; supplies ideas necessary for creative thinking, and fuels the subsequent assessment process. In addition, the competition brief is the key element for the execution of the architecture competition. It defines the design task and its parameters, the jury and assessment criteria, and the need of secondary referential consultation. This is a shared responsibility between the organizer and the national association of architects.

This paper supplies an overview of present eldercare and architecture for the dependant ageing in the Nordic countries. Sweden is used as an example to detail the past and the present evolution of care and the spatial framework for this purpose. This description has mainly relevance to similar processes that are taking place in Norway and Denmark. In the Nordic countries, eldercare is part of the local authorities’ responsibilities towards the ageing population. The Nordic welfare model promotes the concept of home as the ideal place in which to grow old with or without age-related problems. From the outside, the model could be seen as a homogeneous welfare model for older people that supplies either home care services to allow for a prolonged ageing in place or an individually adjusted care and caring in sheltered housing for the dependent and frail senior Yet, eldercare in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden displays both dissimilarities and similarities. Based on available but rough statistics from the Nordic Council, the ideal balance between these possible outcomes seems to be achieved in Norway. Denmark and Iceland assume an extreme position on this Nordic continuum of eldercare, since they rely on either extensive home care services and sheltered housing or both. In contrast, Finland and Sweden constitute the other extreme with a smaller proportion of both home care services and eldercare for the dependant ageing within the sheltered housing. In the Nordic countries, the recurrent use of the architecture competition provides a window for understanding the evolution of appropriate space for the dependant during the 20th century. In this five country region, the architecture competition system is similar as to organisational form and use among commissioners. During the assessment process, the most adequate architectural solution is promoted by use of five fundamental criteria: 1) ingenuity (the degree of innovation of the submitted architectural design); 2) functionality and usability; 3) aesthetical, architectural and environmental qualities; 4) sustainable and technical performance; and 5) economical and long-term investments. Based on the Swedish example, the cyclic use of the competition on a national level during the 20th century has promoted various prototypes of appropriate architecture for the group of dependent and frail seniors. This process has been guided by a gradual definition of the concept of homelikeness that is related to political reforms of the social act in an inclusive direction. Based on architectural drawings from three Swedish competitions, this space has gone from being no more than the size of a single bed into becoming an individual flat of 30 to 40 m2. These flats have been organized in clusters with communal space for kitchening and socializing, a solution derived from the group living concept of the 1980s. The Nordic countries are preparing for the emerging ageing society. In Norway, new guidelines for the built environment have recently been published, while the Danish approach emphasizes the existential aspects of growing old. Sweden is searching for a renewal of housing for older people in general, both in ordinary housing and in residential care homes by use of the architecture competition. The  architectural development describes the ideo-political process of emphasizing the individual’s universal right to a place called home even in a situation of an age-related dependency on societal assistance.

This paper supplies an overview of present eldercare and architecture for the dependant ageing in the Nordic countries. Sweden is used as an example to detail the past and the present evolution of care and the spatial framework for this purpose. This description has mainly relevance to similar processes that are taking place in Norway and Denmark. In the Nordic countries, eldercare is part of the local authorities’ responsibilities towards the ageing population. The Nordic welfare model promotes the concept of home as the ideal place in which to grow old with or without age-related problems. From the outside, the model could be seen as a homogeneous welfare model for older people that supplies either home care services to allow for a prolonged ageing in place or an individually adjusted care and caring in sheltered housing for the dependent and frail senior Yet, eldercare in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden displays both dissimilarities and similarities. Based on available but rough statistics from the Nordic Council, the ideal balance between these possible outcomes seems to be achieved in Norway. Denmark and Iceland assume an extreme position on this Nordic continuum of eldercare, since they rely on either extensive home care services and sheltered housing or both. In contrast, Finland and Sweden constitute the other extreme with a smaller proportion of both home care services and eldercare for the dependant ageing within the sheltered housing. In the Nordic countries, the recurrent use of the architecture competition provides a window for understanding the evolution of appropriate space for the dependant during the 20th century. In this five country region, the architecture competition system is similar as to organisational form and use among commissioners. Duringthe assessment process, the most adequate architectural solution is promoted by use of five fundamental criteria: 1) ingenuity (the degree of  innovation of the submitted architectural design); 2) functionality and usability; 3) aesthetical, architectural and environmental qualities; 4) sustainable and technical performance; and 5) economical and long-term investments. Based on the Swedish example, the cyclic use of the competition on a national level during the 20th century has promoted various prototypes of appropriate architecture for the group of dependent and frail seniors. This process has been guided by a gradual definition of the concept of homelikeness that is related to political reforms of the social act in an inclusive direction. Based on architectural drawings from three Swedish competitions, this space has gone from being no more than the size of a single bed into becoming an individual flat of 30 to 40 m2. These flats have been organized in clusters with communal space for kitchening and socializing, a solution derived from the group living concept of the 1980s. The Nordic countries are preparing for the emerging ageing society. In Norway, new guidelines for the built environment have recently been published, while the Danish approach emphasizes the existential aspects of growing old. Sweden is searching for a renewal of housing for older people in general, both in ordinary housing and in residential care homes by use of the architecture competition. The architectural development describes the ideo-political process of emphasizing the individual’s universal right to a place called home even in a situation of an age-related dependency on societal assistance.

This study focuses on the interior remodeling of two Swedish residential homes for dependent seniors. A regular maintenance operation was turned into a color intervention project, and the residents stayed during the process. The aim of the study was to assess the changes in terms of supportiveness for elderly individuals with cognitive or functional impairments. The settings were evaluated prior to and after remodeling. Architecture profession method and the Therapeutic Environment Screening Survey of Nursing Homes instrument were used. The conclusion is that a supportive architecture was not achieved, due to a restraining focus on color instead of the relation between aging, color, and homeliness. On the other hand, the architecture profession method and the Therapeutic Environment  Screening Survey of Nursing Homes instrument proved to be useful complementary tools for assessing interior changes in architectural space.

In the context of an ageing world, theories on welfare regimes as well as their influence on architecture for ageing come of relevance. The key mechanism in these theories is the perceived level of decommodification in society, i.e. various financial measures that the individual subject initiates personally in order to prepare for different stages in his/ her life: bringing up children, education, health and sickness, professional career or retiring from professional life. One concrete measure is special accommodations for dependent and frail older people, here termed residential care homes (RCH). Decommodification is supposedly most developed in welfare regimes originating from social democratic values, similar to Nordic countries, like Denmark, Norway and Sweden. During the 20^th century, these countries have used architectural competitions in order to harmonize socio-political ideals with the architectural realization of RCHs. The present study explores the organizational forms of 77 architectural competitions that were organized in these countries during the period 2000-2012. A sub-sample of 9 competition programmes, three from each country, were analyzed concerning the presence of welfare goals and other prerequisites for the design task in the programming brief. The sample was assembled through key word searches in open and restricted databases. Based on the full sample, restricted competitions appeared as the most used form for RCH competitions. The sub-sample suggested that language and ideological capital, originating from the realization of the Nordic welfare state, adds an additional restriction. Hence, the overall conclusion suggests that that existing socio-political ideals for architecture for the dependent and frail aging process tends to block the integration of international findings on universal space for ageing well.

In national building codes, like the Danish and the Swedish ones, accessibility and usability are subjected to an open interpretation on a comprehensive level, supplemented by specified requirements on a detailed level. The aim of the pre­sent study is to position the twin concept with regard to its everyday understanding, and thereby suggest a definition. The study has been executed as a case study among a cohort of 370 experienced Danish professionals. The research material was assembled by use of mini-questionnaires. Conclusions derived from this material were synthesized with the respondents’ suggestions of exemplary models, which allegedly displayed an appropriate level of accessible and usable architecture and built environment. Based on the every­day understanding of the twin concept and paired with analyses of some exemplary models, this study suggests that accessibility and usability with respect to the user can be seen as constituents of buildings’ overall performative capacity. This capacity can be defined as usefulness, the potential sum of various adjustments of an accessible and usable nature. Ultimately, usefulness refers to the individual user’s level of independent usages of the particular architectural space.

The modern ageing process implies an improved fit between the human being and architecture. It has to be harmonized with both qualitative and quantitative requirements in order to create a space that is accessible, inclusive and usable for everyone, regardless of cognitive or physical disabilities. This study focuses on a continuing education course at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, which aimed at expanding teaching on accessibility, inclusion and usability. The course attracted eight professionals, seven women and one man. Two were trained architects, while the others had clerical professions. During seven five sessions, including study visits, lectures, and literature seminars the concept of ‘experienced space’ was addressed in order to assess ‘usefulness in architecture.’ Four examples of built environment highlighted spatial elements that promoted accessibility, inclusiveness, sustainability and usability of the building. The literature included three works, on universal design, on wayfinding, and a fictional work, in which spatial thinking is part of the plot. Seven out of eight participants fulfilled an essay or an oral presentation on the mentioned aspects. This study suggests that accessibility, usability and inclusion are spatial constituents that need to be activated on a personal level by the individual designer.

Denmark, Norway and Sweden are entering the graying society. The demographic situation creates new demands on buildings, infrastructure and services. The number of residential homes is increasing, especially for older persons with a dementia diagnosis. This is a type of public building that is regulated by programming documents that eventually will define the residential environment. This article is based on a survey of 78 architectural competitions from the period of 2000 to 2012. The competition documentation of nine Nordic competitions has been analyzed by use of close reading and drawing analysis. This study suggests that there is a gap between reality and visions. Despite research-based guidelines, the architecture of contemporary residential care homes relies on universal qualities that are associated with the home environment rather than with the particular conditions of this housing that integrates home in a care environment. A multidisciplinary approach, however, is desirable inorder to create appropriate and sustainable environments for frail older people.

In 2004, development plans for the Swedish municipality of Järfälla detected a severe disappointment concerning appropriate forms of housing for frail older citizens. In 2006, the municipality organized an architectural competition in order to renew housing for dependent and frail older persons. In 2007, a winner was selected from 33 submitted proposals. The proposal was made by Danish architects, who envisioned different types of housing that were organized around a central residential care home that became the centre for the town plan.The paper is a study on how architectonic visions were converted into a built environment under the influence of Swedish civil administration. Interviews with 10 key informants, involved in different stages of the process, along with official documentation allowed for reconstructing stages that influenced the course of the project. The research was focused on the perceived similarity between the winning proposal and the actual realization.The analysis of the research material identified three decisive stages in the realization of the winning proposal. Firstly, the commission, which the architects had won, created problems since it could be seen as merely a town plan or a plan in combination with a building commission. Secondly, public regulations on tendering procedures generated spatial problems for the key building of the town plan as well as for segments of the full plan. Thirdly, the financial market in a large city region affected the level of architectural quality. The study identified a continuum of exterior influence that could be termed as adaptiveness that organisational and political priorities imposed on the competition proposal.

This study of two architectural competitions suggests that the fit between architectural design and older users, who depend on regular caregiving due to cognitive or functional disabilities, requires a particular consideration when designing new residential care homes.

In the context of the universal ageing process that is currently taking place in western society, the organization of architecture competitions that deals with space for dependent ageing comes of relevance. Based on the welfare regime theory, it could be argued that this type of architecture is part of a national architectural typology. The type of welfare regime does not only supply spatial parameters to respect, but it also align architects’ the spatial visions in order to incarnate the national socio‐political ambitions. This type of space seems to have a slower pace of change, since a spatial innovation is juxtaposed with sociopolitical reform work of the welfare regime. The present study is an explorative study of programming competition documents and winning entries that were part of the Swedish governmental initiative of 2010,” Growing older, Living well,” to innovate space for ageing by use of architectural competitions. Three municipal architecture competitions that dealt with space for ageing (ordinary or sheltered housing) constitute the framework for this study. These were organized during the period of November 2011 to April 2012, partly sponsored by the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology (SIAT), which administered the governmental allocation of 50 million SEK. The research material was accumulated by use of internet searches, interviews and questionnaires. The analysis applied pattern seeking and involved close reading, document analysis and spatial analysis of architectural drawings. The study suggests a preliminary conclusion: programme documents used within the field of architecture for ageing and eldercare emphasize spatial requirements for an overall high architectural quality and long ‐term performance, but little attention is paid to the user perspective, how to grow old in a care environment with respect to the WHO policy of active ageing. In addition, the study demonstrates a conservation of existing notions about appropriate architecture for ageing at the expense of an integration of multi‐disciplinary findings on the relation on ageing, eldercare and space. Consequently, architecture  competitions that focus on the emerging ageing society could be seen as a restrained type of space for architects to digress. National welfare goals and existing means to achieve these goals act as inhibitors for an innovative spatial preparation for the ageing society.

The Swedish governmental two year program “Growing old, Living well” was launched in 2010 with the specific intent to create innovation regarding housing for both able and frail older people. The program has been administered by the Swedish Institute for Assistive Technology (SIAT), which has diffused the allocation of 50 million Swedish crowns into various projects and studies about housing for the ageing generation. Sweden is entering the ageing country in which the group of people aged 65 years and above attains approximately 19 per cent. Apart from regular case studies on different phenomena that occur in relation to older people and housing, the Swedish government designated the architectural competition as an instrument for renewing contemporaneous thinking about ordinary and special housing for older people. National architecture competitions have been used to define space for dependent persons. These competitions have preceded reforms of the social act. In a parallel track, local architecture competitions have resulted in new housing for older people who still able reside within the stock of ordinary housing.

According to the SIAT, a total of 18 municipalities requested information about the conditions and possibilities for acquiring finical support for the organization of architecture competitions or studies about housing for senior citizen. Of these, seven applied for funding to organize competitions, but five local organizers were granted funding. Later, two municipalities suspended their competitions due to unforeseen obstacles. The program has resulted in three architectural competitions. The objective for these competitions has been to infuse creative thinking and future-oriented solutions concerning housing for the older people. The present study will shed light on how a municipal actor works with these matters and will supply a time estimate for such a planning process. The study focuses on the three municipal architectural competitions and the two pilot studies that were used as supplementary source of information regarding housing preferences. Supplemented by written documentation, the process of realizing an architecture competition or a pilot study has been reconstructed as to its dynamics. The methodology includes an inventory of competitions, case studies, document review and interviews of key-persons. By use of the competition documentation and the pilot studies, 74 informants were possible to delimit as to their participation in the process.

The decisive reason for why the governmental program Growing Older - Living Well didn’t get a better response from the municipalities lies in the timetable for the national initiative. The governmental program was not coordinated with municipal planning processes for housing. Only municipals that already started their planning could consider organizing competitions. The competitions were organized as invited competitions with a prequalification procedure. Prequalification is a selection procedure used early in the competition process to identify suitable candidates for the following design phase. Three to four teams of architects have been invited to develop design proposals. Based on the study, a set comprising of thirty detailed conclusions can be made about the municipal competitions that were arranged with support from the governmental program. However, they all converge into an overarching conclusion that states the direct link between the wording of the competition brief and the participating architects’ inclination to rethink the design task in a fundamental or moderate approach. The study concludes that the better the arranger prepare the competition brief, the more accurately will the participating architects convert this text into future-oriented architecture for older people that is active on a comprehensive level as well as on the detailed level one.

In the context of the universal ageing process that is currently taking place in western society, the organization of architecture competitions that deals with space for dependent ageing comes of relevance. Based on the welfare regime theory, it could be argued that this type of architecture is part of a national architectural typology. The type of welfare regime does not only supply spatial parameters to respect, but it also align architects’ the spatial visions in order to  incarnate the national socio‐political ambitions. This type of space seems to have a slower pace of change, since a spatial innovation is juxtaposed with sociopolitical reform work of the welfare regime. The present study is an explorative study of programming competition documents and winning entries that were part of the Swedish governmental initiative of 2010,” Growing older, Living well,” to innovate space for ageing by use of architectural competitions. Three municipal architecture competitions that dealt with space for ageing (ordinary or sheltered housing) constitute the framework for this study. These were organized during the period of November 2011 to April 2012, partly sponsored by the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology (SIAT), which  administered the governmental allocation of 50 million SEK. The research material was accumulated by use of internet searches, interviews and questionnaires. The analysis applied pattern seeking and involved close reading, document analysis and spatial analysis of architectural drawings. The study suggests a preliminary conclusion: programme documents used within the field of architecture for ageing and eldercare emphasize spatial requirements for an overall high architectural quality and long‐term performance, but little attention is paid to the user perspective, how to grow old in a care environment with respect to the WHO policy of active ageing. In addition, the study demonstrates a conservation of existing notions about appropriate architecture for ageing at the expense of an integration of multi‐disciplinary findings on the relation on ageing, eldercare and space. Consequently, architecture competitions that focus on the emerging ageing society could be seen as a restrained type of space for architects to digress. National welfare goals and existing means to achieve these goals act as inhibitors for an innovative spatial preparation for the ageing society.

This article presents results from a study of prequalification in architectural competitions for senior citizen housing. The aim is to develop knowledge of how the organizer appoints candidates to restricted competitions. Prequalification is a selection procedure used early in the competition process to identify suitable candidates for the following design phase. Three to four teams have in this study been invited to develop design proposals. The overall research question is to understand how organizers select design teams for competitions aimed at developing innovative design solutions on housing for elderly persons in an aging society. The methodology includes an inventory of competitions, case studies, document review and interviews with key persons. Three municipal competitions have been examined. In these competitions 10 informants have reported their experiences of prequalification. They responded to an interview guide with questions on the background of the competition, development of the invitation, and the need for information about the candidates, assessment process and experience from the selection of design teams. The invitation emerges during negotiation at the organizing body, which includes discussion with the Swedish Association of Architects and the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology, who provide economical support for the competitions. General conditions, submission requirements and criteria for the evaluation of applications are parts of an established practice. The assessment procedure has two distinct stages. First the selection committee checks whether applications meet the specific “must requirements” in the invitation. Thereafter follows an evaluative assessment of the candidate’s professional profile. Reference projects are important in this final stage. From the study nine general conclusions can be drawn regarding the influence on the competition by the arranger, the Swedish Association of Architects and the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology, starting with the decision to organize a competition and ending with how the selection committees experienced the prequalification.

This study presents results from a practice-initiated intervention of the interior setting in a residential care home, RCH, outside of Stockholm, Sweden. In the wake of the Swedish governmental initiative “Growing old, Living well” in 2012, the Administration for Social

Welfare and Health, ASW, at the City of Stockholm received partial funding for an intervention project, implemented as changes of the interior design of a RCH unit for 25 residents. This unit was situated on the ground floor in a four storey building; a refurbished hospital building from the 1950s. The project revolved around two situations that older residents regularly meet in a RCH setting; Firstly, the meal situation, which takes place in the dining room and the adjacent area for coffee or tea; secondly, the leisure situation, which involves distraction and socializing activities. The development of a set of essential environmental changes involved representatives of the municipal administration along with the ones of the private eldercare entrepreneur, experts in interior design and lighting, and smaller group of users, i.e. the residents and their relatives. However, the project started without a baseline assessment of existing conditions, hence, complicating a direct evaluation of the impact of interior changes.

In consequence, this evaluation had to be realized as a multivariate analysis, which compared previous conditions with the changed interior setting. Triangulating research methods were used: interviews, observations, mini-questionnaires along with the Therapeutic Environment Screening Scale for Nursing homes instrument, TESS-NH. The TESS-NH assessments involved a group of 10 evaluators. The qualitative and quantitative assessments of the interior changes suggested a positive effect, and most users, residents, relatives or members of the staff, appreciated the new setting. Due to the lack of a baseline assessment, these experiences are difficult to correlate with particular changes in the interior setting. However, two factors appear as decisive for the successful outcome of the project: firstly, the development of a preliminary set of changes in the indoor design, conceived by spatial experts, and, secondly, the involvement of user representatives in the evaluation of the suggested ideas before implementation.

This article presents a study on a commission competition with a list of imperative requirements and its implementation. The competition opened in January 2012, but had to be interrupted prematurely and prior to a jury assessment process. The aim has been to develop knowledge about an alternative type of architecture competition oriented towards building construction companies in close collaboration with architects. The overall research question has been to understand the motives for this choice of competition organization and its applicability to the issue of innovating housing for the senior group of citizens.

The study has used case study methodology that has included document review (close reading) and an interview guide with questions on the background of the competition, development of the invitation to participate, the assessment process of the applicants to participate, the selection of companies, and the reasons for the interruption of the competition. Given the alternative form of the competition, the process was subject to confidentiality. Despite access was given to secret information that arouse from the process, the extent of the study has restricted. Therefore, the five participating teams for architects and building contractors have not been possible to interview, nor an access to the submitted entries in the competition. The sample of informants consists of three persons who were involved in the decision-making process of this competition.

The invitation to a commission competition was developed during a negotiation process within the organizing body, a principal local municipal real estate company and four other similar partners from other municipalities in close collaboration with a local association for senior housing. This consortium initiated discussions with the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology (SIAT) and the Swedish Association of Public Housing Companies (SABO). In addition, a team consisting of an architect, a legal expertise and representatives from the building sector acted as advisors to the consortium. The ambition with the competition was to promote cost efficiency with new thinking in design.

In this case, the commission competition and its assessment procedure developed in a technical orientation. The selection process of candidates for participating in the competition was based on a numeric value system that was attributed different imperative requirements. However, the invitation only attracted a sparse interest from six teams of architects and building contractors. All of these candidates were approved and were invited. In this aspect, the organizer had to simplify the selection process since the estimate on interested partners reached 10. However, none of the candidates were assessed as fully competent in relation to the imperative requirements, and, therefore, the competition was interrupted prematurely, and prior to the jury assessment process. The main conclusion from this study is that, in this case, the commission competition has been planned and managed from a rational perspective that has amputated both the force of competing in architecture. The selection committee represents an expert model. The respond from the building sector can be seen a disappointment.

The new millennium has forwarded an increased larger interest in appropriate housing for the senior part of the Swedish population, aged 65 years and older. In 2010, the Swedish government launched a two-year programme called “Growing old, Living Well” that targeted living conditions for older people with few or some needs of home care services, but also the smaller group of dependent and frail older persons, whose everyday living depend upon regular caregiving. The programme promoted architectural competitions as a tool for innovation. This paper assesses the outcome of three architectural competitions that were realized by the same number of municipalities in conjunction with the programme. The paper concludes that existing notions about appropriate space for ageing prevailed, since the competition briefs evolved from existing data, and, thereby, allowed for a low degree of renewed thinking. Hence, the relationship between architectural designs and the older person’s needs due to age-related problems was only addressed indirectly. Housing for the Swedish silvering welfare state needs further detailing in order to become an essential criterion for creating innovative architecture and urban design.

When memory and logic fail us and it feels like the brain is slowly breaking apart, we need help with the physical details of our everyday lives. When planning housing options for people with dementia, we need to keep in mind that we are building for someone who will not be able to adjust the room according to their own needs. We need to step into that person’s world and focus on the smallest details. The room and the physical items need to remind the residents of what they usually do and how they do it. We need to think about how a physical environment can be adapted to people with severe cognitive failure. There is already so much technology that could be adapted and really helpful appliances. My task has been to search for details that can serve as guidance when memory and logic fail, and to look at how these can be planned for already in the construction of the housing.