A techno retirement
Forget that quiet bungalow by the coast – soon you could be enjoying your sunset years in a hi-tech home full of holograms
THE figures are stark: by 2037, one in four of us will be over 65, compared to one in six at present; and a third of babies born today are expected to reach their 100th birthday.
We are faced with a rapidly ageing population, and if we think there is a lack of suitable retirement housing now, what will the situation be like in 50 years’ time?
To help prepare us for such uncertain times, housing association Anchor has put together a future-gazing report with computer-generated images of what the retirement home of the future might look like and contain.
Harnessing i deas from advancing technologies, it has come up with features to make older people’s lives easier, such as a wall-size screen that monitors and gives information about the resident’s health, a computer-generated ‘virtual’ pet, and even a turntable that changes the house’s aspect at the owner’s request.
‘Innovative and thought-provoking designs such as these are just some suggestions of what could become a reality in the future if we are to tackle the issues facing older people,’ says Howard Nankivell, Anchor’s housing operations director.
In Anchor’s vision, the retirement house would be cylindrical – so that it could easily be seated on a turntable – and could be adapted and customised on purchase.
Buyers could choose everything from how much internal or external space they would like, to the size, shape and style of the garden.
Many aspects of the house, such as lighting and sound, could be controlled from the sofa through a personal computer projected on to the coffee table as a 3D hologram, so as not to take up unnecessary space. This is where a virtual, holographic pet – to keep the resident company – could be generated. The ‘monitoring wall’ would detail the homeowner’s personal health statistics and remind them about medication and exercise.
It could also tell them if someone is at the front door, remind them to turn off the oven, and alert carers in the event of a fall. It could be personalised so a prompt could, for example, come from a family member with a familiar voice.
The ‘monitoring wall’ would feed off wearable technology, which can already monitor measurements including heart rates and distances covered. Anchor predicts that in the near future, devices will exist that will also be able to monitor complex changes in physiology, such as respiratory rates and fluid retention. This means that, potentially, a ‘monitoring wall’ could give early warning of conditions such as heart failure.
The theory is that such monitoring would keep people living in their own homes for longer. But Mr Nankivell is aware there are difficulties that come with people living longer. ‘More will need to manage multiple longterm conditions including dementia, unless a cure is found,’ he says.
It is estimated that each of the homes would take six to nine months to construct using a combination of timber, lightweight steel frames, recycled concrete and insulation materials. Innovative use of solar panels and the ability to switch heating on and off remotely – along with advances in insulation – would keep energy costs low.
Anchor is the largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people in England, helping more than 30,000 over-55s. It envisages that such retirement homes would be situated in a village and be connected to each other via a series of bridges, to help foster a sense of community.
ENCOURAGING retirees to be more active, the village would have parks built beneath retractable domes, providing yearround access. However, there is debate how much technology people will want in their retirement, given how our lives are ruled by it already.
‘I think society will strive for a simpler and more natural outlook as our working life is filled with modernities,’ says property expert Morgan Dudley, director of Alchemy Property Management. She adds: ‘My parents are close to retiring. However, they are fiercely independent and do not particularly enjoy being surrounded by gadgets.’
While she accepts there will be a shortage of retirement housing and that innovation is the key to comfort and efficiency, with too much technology the houses become ‘somewhat of a Star Trek fantasy’.
Mr Nankivell says: ‘Our research shows that people want to live independently with a high degree of choice and control in retirement. It’s important to create places where people want to live and will be happy for many years to come.’