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The School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, at partnership with IDEA: Innovación y development Asistencial and Foro Qpea, organized an Internationalworkshop on Architecture, Environment and Aging. The experts pointed out the importance of the design, both housing and urban planning, to respond to the needs of an increasingly large sector of society, the elderly.

"We must develop new architectural and design environmental models that address the real needs of the elderly," said the organizer of workshop, Pilar Suárez. "As we age, and our capacities are somewhat diminished, we become more sensitive to our environment. design That's why the architecture and urban planning of cities should facilitate our daily lives," she added.

Technical and financial support for home renovation

Despite the fact that society is aging, the architectural and urban planning design is not thinking about the elderly, according to Habib Chaudhury, professor of Gerontology at Simon Fraser University in Canada. "A lot needs to be done work at the administrative level and provide support, both technical and financial, to enable them to undertake renovations to their existing housing and to make cities accessible and therefore age-friendly," he said.

Likewise, Dr. Karin Palmlöf, founding partner of Palmlöf Therapeutic Gardens, stated that the design of geriatric residences is trying to respond to the more specific needs of their users. This Scandinavian showed gardens in which elderly people with early stages of cognitive impairment receive specific therapies aimed at promoting their autonomy staff.