Pioneering design
for Later Living
We're working with the Royal College of Art to radically rethink the UK's approach to Later Living, combining expertise in housing, wellness and technology to help the industry adapt to the changing needs of a population that is living longer.
The challenge
By 2030, nearly 1 in 5 people in the UK will be aged 65 or over. The greatest increase will be seen in people over 85, which will double to 3.2m in 2041 (Age UK,2019).
In many other developed economies, e.g. Australia & USA, 1 in 20 retired people live in a home that has been specially designed to support an older person through the rest of their life.
In the UK this applies to only 1 in 200 retired people (LGA, 2017). 3.8M people in the UK over 65 are interested in downsizing, with an estimated housing stock value of £1.2trn (Legal & General 2018). To meet demand 38,000 additional homes a year are needed for the rental later living sector (HAPPI5 2019).
The Later Living market is forecast to grow significantly in 25yrs, attracting investment of up to £5.7bn a year until 2040 (HAPPI 5, 2019) and increase by 40% (£16bn) in 5yrs to £55.2bn (Knight Frank 2019).
Our research
We have secured funding from Innovate UK for a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Cartwright Pickard to develop an innovative new mixed-use Later Living housing typology for urban sites in the UK. Our aim is to match fund this with key partners from industry.
The research will radically rethink and transform the UK construction industry’s approach to Later Living, combining expertise in housing, wellness and technology to help the UK adapt to the changing housing requirements of a population that is living longer.
The project will draw upon existing research, theory and international best practice from Europe, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The project will present flexible and adaptable design principles for a framework in which theoretical proof of concept can be applied to a live project on a town centre site in the UK.
