Neuroscience and Architecture:A Study of Housing for Seniors

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the design of kitchen-dining spaces for autonomous to semi-autonomous seniors that addresses their neural needs, taking into consideration the declines that are occurring in the brain. Designers rarely employ neuroscience research to understand and improve health and well-being. In Quebec, spaces for seniors that are better adapted to their physical and mental abilities are urgently needed. Current senior housing models do not take into account their physiological and cognitive needs, nor do they provide much support to reduce the rate of decline.

Architecture can participate in stimulating areas, neural pathways and coping mechanisms occurring in the brain involved in everyday actions. Further, we can create housing environments that support the elderly, promote their quality of life, and reduce or prevent the effects of decline. Using phenomenology and embodiment to support neuroscience and architecture, a methodology is proposed to design a kitchen-dining space from an evidence-based perspective.