Nursing Home Resident-Room Furniture Design: Application of Universal Design PrinciplesPaul Eshelman, Cornell University, Department of Design & Environmental Analysis, Associate Professor, Cornell University, USA "The last place I want to be when I become old and frail is in a nursing home!" This broadly held opinion, particularly among middle-aged adults caring for aging parents, is motivating people involved in diverse aspects of care for frail elderly to think creatively about residential options. A case in point involves administrators of a continuing care community located in a university town in north eastern United States. Anticipating an increased demand within the geographic region for skilled nursing, these leaders are engaged in a planning effort to add a skilled-nursing facility to their campus. Their vision: from site layout to space planning to furniture design to programs and activities to the giving of care, the new facility is to be innovative. This paper describes one component of the total design effort: the design of resident-room furniture. The paper's focus on the design process, one that departs from conventional practice in furniture design for frail elderly due to the theory and knowledge used to inform the design. Rather than commencing with a study of codes and regulations as they apply to nursing home furniture, this process starts with an interpretive study of the seven principles of Universal Design formulated at The Center for Universal Design (1997, NC State University). These principles are supplemented with evidence from studies about environmental psychology and the role design can play in elevating sense of place and well being of older adults. Finally codes and restrictions will be applied and negotiated into the design. From various information sources design ideas are being generated. Although the project is in an early, planning stage, the process is expected to move along quickly, with study models of the furniture to be constructed during the summer months. By the time of Designing for the 21st Century III, in December, results from tested prototypes will be available. Actual furniture will then be constructed and installed in all 20 of the resident rooms in the new skilled nursing facility, due to open in 2005. This installation will allow actual-use observations, with the goal of understanding what works and what needs to be improved in the design of this resident-room furniture. Collaborators in the project include the executive director of the continuing care community, the advisory team for the new facility, a furniture manufacturer (yet to be identified), and the author as furniture designer and researcher. The design and evaluation efforts are being conducted as a research project through the university with which the author is affiliated. Licensure, royalties, and liability are to be negotiated among the University, the furniture manufacturer, and the continuing care community. The furniture design, once thoroughly evaluated and appropriately refined, hopefully will be tested in the marketplace. Discussion during the session at Designing for the 21st Century III will be invited among participants about the design process, the information that informed it, and interpretations of the seven Universal Design Principles. Reactions to the furniture design will be encouraged. |