Pusat Jagaan Beribuan Kasih

OMG! 
I'm so happy.. finally I found this existing combination of old folks home & orphanage in Kajang!

http://www.u-may.com.my/charity2.htm

I'd just sent an email to them, hopefully they allow me to visit their home.

Combination of Old Folks Home & Orphanage

I'd this problem is coming out with a system / template for my idea of how old folks home should integrate with orphanages. I've this idea since two years ago when I visited an old folks home at my hometown Bentong, the elderly are too lonely having the same life everyday facing the same old people who doesn't really like to communicate with each other. 

Both my tutors for project and dissertation urged me to find some precedent studies of existing integration of these two homes but I couldn't find any. Even my interim lecturer also question me on how I manage the two groups of different people together under one roof, he even asked me to choose only one group (either old folks or orphanage) for my project but I am reluctant to change my idea, he said that I'm going to kill myself throughout the whole year 3.

So I further n further my research n finally, I found it! but it is just a forum that supports my idea:

http://www.ted.com/conversations/6554/instead_of_old_age_homes_and_o.html

Here are some of the comments they posted which I think is very benefits to my building programme:

Instead of old age homes and orphanages in separate facilities, the combination of both should be built.

There are many old age homes, where many elderly who are well educated and not very sick are living deprived of love and alone. At the same time, there are many orphanages where children dont interact with, or receive love from, elders. We can build homes where elderly people and children can live as small families, take care of one other and be loved.

Nov 21 2011: Hi Deepthi, its a fantastic idea! The combination of old age homes and orphanages will connect the "experience" of old age with the "youthfulness" of children. Imagine the possibilities if children could learn hands on from elders and then go to society; not secluded but empowered. Also, the elders would feel a sense of contribution to young children's lives instead of just rebuke and loathing. 

Nov 20 2011: I agree that we shouldn 't have old age homes nor orphanages, that people should be living with their family or provided with one, in a small group with enough diversity, surrounded by real caring people instead of being a project handled by the laws of economics. It 's a good idea to mix such groups of lonely outcasts, to bring more joy and meaning into their lifes. Love and care is to rare a thing and as old or as young as people are, they need to feel usefull and meaningfull, be able to care and really cared for. It certainly is an original idea that goes in the right direction and hopefully inspires more of that!

Nov 15 2011: A really good idea. I'm working at the Bremer Heimstiftung. We have 26 Old Age Homes in the city Bremen / Germany. We have not exactly the combination of old-age homes and orphanages, but in many of our houses Kindergartens have their premises. In one house also we have a cooperation with a elementary school. There are not only the classrooms located in the retirement home, there the old and the young eat together in the same "cafeteria", too. Many of our homes are "neighborhood-houses" with many generations living under one roof. These are really good and fruitful cooperation where both sides have much to learn from each other and win.

Of course there will be other problems occur once both homes are combined such as children might be too noisy for the elderly to rest, or even children might be standoffish because of the negative influence from the elderly. But there are system to solve all these problems and I believe that the advantages are more than the disadvantages.

And here is a very rational comment to question about the problems that might happen if the homes are combined:

Nov 15 2011: Hi deepthi,

I had discussed this with some people a few months back and I got a range of opinions. There is a chance that old people might not want to be with the kids and might prefer to be alone.The kids might be seen as a disturbance if they spend more than a certain amount of time with them(Few hours is ok but living together ?). Diseases could spread easily from the kids to the old people and vice versa unless proper care is taken . .Success of this model would also depend on how much love the old people could shower on the kids.Wouldn't it be better to have trained caregivers take care of the kids and the old people.Also we need to ensure that kids are not harassed (physically,mentally and sexually) as I know some old people are not good and are outright bad..Who will ensure that ?

I would really like this idea to work .It would be great if it works but I think it can work only under certain conditions.I have spent quality time in orphanages and some time in old age homes.I really believe that it would be beneficial for both the kids and the old people to spend sometime together (say in the evening for an hour or so) under supervision and the rest of the time ,the kids should be under trained caregivers..I think this would be make both groups happy. If the old people are physically and mentally ready and capable of bringing up kids with love and affection,then they could live with them and it should be actively encouraged.But proper assessment has to be made by competent people before this is allowed.

See!

Even Flickr photo supports my idea!  :)

Architectural Solution - Templete (Draft)

Architectural Solution

Social Welfare Architectural Strategy/Principles

Firstly, the location of a centre have to be far away from the city area so that it is free from sound and air pollution which will definitely affect the quality of life of the people living in the centre. It is better if the site is close to the nature as this will ensure the health of the people. In addition, the elderly can rest their mind and body in such a quiet and peaceful home. On the other hand, children which are still undergoing the growth stage are curious about new things, living in nature encourages them to explore and get in touch with different species of plants in order to stimulate their learning desire. Greenery is a very important aspect for social welfare centre because this not only helps the people physically in terms of the quality of air, also improve in terms of psychologically as people will be more energetic and improve their mood when living close to the nature. However, if the space given is insufficient to design an outdoor public area with greenery, it is crucial to have at least one balcony which is the open-air area for the elderly to feel the natural environment rather than staying in an indoor space for 24 hours.

Secondly, the space planning of the home need to be proper to suit the users. It is compulsory to have both the public and private areas in a home to provide space for interaction and communication as well as privacy and freedom for the people. For example, private bedrooms or meditation room are needed for the elderly as they usually prefer a quite atmosphere. It is miserable to have a public bedrooms with more than 10 people sleeping together. Moreover, some of them even being forced to carry out all the daily activities in the specific area which including sleeping, eating, resting etc which is a very cruel treat to them. Therefore, the number of people living in a bedroom have to be set to a maximum number of 2 for the elderly and 4 for the children. This is to ensure they have a sense of belonging staying together in a cozy atmosphere rather than feeling like staying in a prison with cool environment. Nevertheless, if there is not much space provided to have so many separated rooms in a home, it can be replaced by placing partitions in between the beds so that they still have their own private area to carry out any activities within their own personal region. This is important as this is their basic human right.

As an architect or a designer, it is our task to make their life easier so that they can carry out any activities with no worries or trouble. So, the circulation and layout of the home must be convenient for everyone to access and exit including the staffs and the visitors. The dimension of doors and walkway need to be follow the human ergonomics in the old folks home as they need to mobile via wheelchair. Alternatively, the circulation in orphanage have to be straight forward to ensure safety as children like to run and jump around. Children need a large space to express themselves, so it is important to provide a spacious public area such as the play area for them to interact with each other. As for the staff, it is vital to design a simple and proper layout for them to reach the elderly or the orphans quickly in case of any emergency or accident happens in the home. In addition, it is easier for the staff to direct the visitors from the reception area to the rest of the areas in the home. Lastly, the fire escape is another main aspect to be considered in any building including the social welfare centre.

The next fundamental requirement in a social welfare centre is the well-maintained of the facilities. They can be old and small but they have to be sufficient enough to provide service to the people living in the home. This is a basic necessity.

Maintenance of a home is very important especially the cleanliness. This is to endure the quality of life of the people. A clean environment can affect both the mood and behavior of the people living there as well as the productivity of the staffs who works in the centre. Furthermore, the main structure of the house need to be well maintained for safety purpose, namely the roof, piping system, lighting etc. This is a basic requirement of any building. The staffs have to be helpful and friendly because they are the closest people to the people living in a home and they are the one who spend the most time together with them. They have a big responsibility to give them care, love, respect and compassion.

Design for the people but not just for the sake of design. Designers need to put the users as their main aspect followed by function of the building and aesthetic value of their design. This includes the furniture, interior, exterior and the landscape design of a building. The interior design of an old folks home have to be design accordingly to the elderly daily living lifestyle and their habits. For instance, a low cabinet to put spectacles beside the toilets is for the convenience of the elderly so that they can easily find their spectacles after taking bath or brushing their teeth. Designers need to understand the sequence of the activities or the storyline of the users before they go into design.

Next, the facade design or the outlook of a centre need to be well designed as well so that it is visible to the public. This is to raise the awareness and to give a good first impression to the society.

Care for the Orphans & Elderly

Design for the people!
Orphans usually have trauma due to their own family problem, either being abandoned by parents or parents passed away in an accident etc.
What designers can help them is to provide a space with sense of security & safety to eliminate the anxious feeling which not only help them in terms of physically but also psicologically.
On the other hand, the elderly are forgetful, it is crucial for us to design according to their daily activities, follow their habits for example to design a low spectacles cabinet beside the toilet so that they won't forgot where they put after bath / brush their teeth, follow by dressing room where they can easily find their clothes to wear.

[ Combine Old Folks Home & Orphanage]

Some articles that support my idea to combine both the old folks home and orphanage together!
http://www.ted.com/conversations/6554/instead_of_old_age_homes_and_o.html
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/57/v57i07p368-374.pdf

and this is an example of existing integration of both the homes in German!
http://www.hcgs.net/gbofh.html

Survey Form (To ask the Elderly staying in Old Folks Home)

Mr Leong, here are the 2 survey forms prepared to ask for the elderly who are staying in the old folks home to understand their actual living condition, what they really need and what are the problems they are facing living in the home, but I don't know which one should I use, the first one is more on asking about their living condition in the home and the 2nd one is asking about their opinion on how a good old folks home should look like.

* I can attend the tutorial this Thu but not next Thu (8th Oct) cz I'm going to a chess competition. TQ

1. Survey Form (Old Folks Home)

 How Long have you been staying here? ___________________

1 Strongly Agree,

2 Agree,

3 Neutral,

4 Disagree,

 5 Strongly Disagree

 

Questions:	1	2	3	4	5
1. Living in this home is comfortable & relaxed.
2. The cleanliness of the home is well maintained.
3. The staffs and workers are friendly and helpful.
4. There is a sense of belonging living in this home.
5. The spaces is sufficient to carry out different daily activities.
6. There are both public and private areas in this home.
7. The design (interior, exterior, landscape) of the home is satisfaction.
8. The space planning in this home is appropriate.
9. The location of the home is strategic.
10. The mood/feel in the interior of this home is suitable.
11. The living condition in this home is fine.
12. There are good ventilation and natural sunlight provided in this home.
13. It is best for the location of old folks home to be close to the nature.

14. What is your feel living in this home? _________________________________________

15. What is the main problem faced living in this home? ________________________________

16. What else is needed in this home? Anything which is insufficient?                                    

      ___________________________________________________________________________

[ Combine both Old folks home & Orphanage together -Live together happily like a family ]

17. Do you support with the idea above? What do you think of the it?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

18. Living together with children brings benefits to the elderly          Yes / No

Happiness	Yes / No
Respect	Yes / No
Sense of Responsibility	Yes / No
Sense of Appreciation	Yes / No
Love & Care	Yes / No

2. Survey Form (Old Folks Home)

 How Long have you been staying here? ___________________

Questions:	1	2	3	4	5
1. The most important thing to live in an old folks home is to be comfortable & relaxed.
2. The cleanliness of the home need to be well maintained.
3. The staffs & workers have to be friendly and helpful.
4. A sense of belonging is important living in the home.
5. Different spaces with different purposes are needed to carry out different daily activities.
6. Both public and private areas are needed in an old folks home.
7. Old folks home need to be well design (interior, exterior & landscape)
8. A good space planning will affect the quality of life in the home.
10. A relaxing mood and cozy feeling is needed in the home.
11. Facilities need to be well maintained to ensure the safety.
12. Good ventilation and natural sunlight add values to the home.
12. It is best for the location of old folks home to be close to the nature.

13. What is your feel living in this home? _________________________________________

14. What is the main problem faced living in this home? ________________________________

13. What else is needed in this home? Anything which is insufficient?                                    

      ___________________________________________________________________________

[ Combine both Old folks home & Orphanage together -Live together happily like a family ]

16. Do you support with the idea above? What do you think of the it?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

20. Living together with children brings benefits to the elderly          Yes / No

Happiness	Yes / No
Respect	Yes / No
Sense of Responsibility	Yes / No
Sense of Appreciation	Yes / No
Love & Care	Yes / No