Intergenerational day care facility design : adapting churches to meet the needs of young and elderly

Intergenerational day care (IDC) provides day-time care for elderly adults and young children within the same facility or within proximate facilities. Proponents of IDC believe it provides mutual benefits for children and older adults and may help counteract age separatism and age bias in our society. Because IDC is a relatively new type of care, literature describing IDC programs and physical settings is scarce. Day Care centers are frequently located in churches (Clarke-Stewart, 1993), and church buildings are readily adaptable for day care use.

The purpose of this study was to examine, describe, and analyze the physical settings of two existing IDC centers located in churches. The case studies provided a means of identifying design aspects affecting participant well- being and social interaction between young and elderly participants. Emphasis was placed on adult day care design because the elderly and children in the case studies interacted within the adult day care area; the elderly did not visit children in the child care areas. A survey of adult day care participants provided information on how elderly feel about sharing a facility with children. Recommendations for adapting other churches for IDC were developed. Literature review included history of child, adult, and intergenerational day care, design for aging, and comparison of child and elderly sensory modalities.

Findings were organized into the following categories: (a) spatial use and organization, (b) room size, (c) lighting, (d) view, (e) acoustics, (f) safety and privacy, and (g) use of outdoor space. Circulation patterns that cause children and elderly to cross paths frequently was found to be a key element in promoting spontaneous interaction between the generations, regardless of distance between adult and child areas. A shared entry into the building did not appear to promote intergenerational social interaction. There is evidence that smaller spaces promote more touching behaviors between elderly and children than do larger spaces. Churches may typically need to make hallways and common areas appear less institutional and make adjustments in lighting to meet the needs of the elderly. View is an important consideration when planning or adapting the adult day care location within a church because watching people and nature is an important activity for the elderly participants. Outdoor areas used by children were found to be underutilized by the adult day care participants, although some elderly expressed a desire to spend time outdoors. Elderly adult participants expressed positive feelings about sharing a facility with children and indicated they were not bothered by children's noise.