With the growing number of seniors in the Netherlands and the ongoing reform of their accommodation since 2015, finding new housing forms for this target group is crucial in improving their quality of life as well as solving the housing crisis. Currently, seniors in the Netherlands face multiple imminent challenges, like the rapidly increasing cost of care in the country, growing issues of loneliness and the housing mismatch for the target group, which often lives in way too large housing for their needs and capabilities. In order to accommodate for this problems, clustered housing forms, or co-housing, have become an emerging option throughout Europe, while for the senior target group there has been little focus on it. In this research, litera- ture as well as user research will be utilized in order to confirm the potential for the target group as well as get insights on the actual users wishes and experiences with community based housing. As the literature research showed, clustered housing promises potential in reducing issues such as loneli- ness and lack activity in the senior target group, as well as being able to provide housing attractive for the target group to move out of their previous homes. Regarding the health of the users the literature showed the importance of access to greenery and views, highlighting the importance of the right location for their accommodation. Further, the user research highlighted the importance of the community to the users, and the ability to find social interaction whenever they want, which is not the case living in their previous family homes. Further, the users confirmed the importance of greenery to their living quality and the ability to personalize they homes. In conclusion, clustered housing proved to be a promising solution for the target group, if its done with attention to the community and their wishes.

The aim of the research is to create architectural design guidelines for a housing facility including its immediate surroundings for adults with a Mild Intellectual Disability (MID). The potential to combine housing with additional neighbourhood facilities stimulating social interaction is taken into account to reduce loneliness and segregation from society and support them in their everyday life to make them more satisfied in the growing urban landscape. Observations and semi-structured interviews are done about typology & form, spatial organisation, outdoor surroundings, embedding, facilities, privacy, control/influence on the environment and social interaction in order to compare three different housing facilities as case studies. The research concludes that first of all the living environment of adults with an MID must be clear and structured. Secondly, overstimulation needs to be avoided and they must have the opportunity to connect with others. This means there should be a balance between a lively and calm living environment. If these preconditions are met, adults with an MID are able grow into their independence when the distance to care is gradually placed further away within the familiarity of their neighbourhood.

The amount of elderly people in the Netherlands is increasing rapidly. In conjunction with the individualization of the population, this has led to a number of problems. There is a lack of suitable houses for the elderly, a lack of money and nursing staff in the health care sector and a high rate of loneliness among the population. New housing forms for elderly cannot be omitted and having social interaction and taking a moment to help your neighbours should become normal again. This research aims to find new ways in which architecture could contribute to a living environment where elderly in need of light care live together with people of different ages and households. The main question that is addressed in this research is: “What architecture and built environment features can encourage social interaction in a living environment between elderly in need of light care and their neighbours?”. To conduct this research, the most commonly used method is anthropological research. This is supplemented by literature research and case studies. The results of this study are a wide range of architectural aspects, on different scales (dwelling, building block, neighbourhood), that stimulate interaction between elderly in need of light care and their neighbours. These aspects are translated in design guidelines.

Loneliness and social isolation amongst elderly is becoming an oppressing problem and could even cause dementia over time. A worrying omen, especially when the growing dementia figures in the Netherlands are taken into consideration. A problem which is even more opressing due to the current- and future shortage of financial funding, healthcare staff, and housing. A relatively new typology which tries to create a partial solution for this problem is the Dementia Village; where healthcare, social functions, and nature are combined with a community based living on a larger urban scale than usual. However, this typology only focuses on patients with advanced dementia and thus only covers a small part of the main problem. Could some of its features be implemented within the current and future built environment, in order to also provide suitable residential care for patients with early stage dementia? Could a neighbourhood be realized where inhabitants form a tight community together, and by that tackling the problem of loneliness and social isolation amongst this patient- and age group? The main question of this research is defined in the following manner: How can the Dementia Village architecture provide residential care for early stage dementia patients and elderly on a larger community orientated neighbourhood scale? By the use of literature reviews, case studies of current Dementia Village’s, interviews with architects, urban planners, and healthcare staff, observations of dementia patients and the current healthcare environment, and location research an answer will be provided to this main question. Eventually this will lead to the definition of design guidelines for the implementation of features of the current Dementia Village typology, location and its architectural elements within the built environment.