Retirement home challenge

RESPONSE TO ARTICLE IN THE SATURDAY AGE NEWSPAPER REGARDING AN ELDERLY PERSON IN A RETIREMENT HOME LEFT IN THEIR ROOM WITH NO AIR-CONDITIONING.

I am not writing about the situation which strands our parents without air conditioning in their so-called ‘retirement’ space because the outrage that incident engenders should be minor compared to the sadness of seeing us or our parents ‘live’ in a character free grey on grey bedroom for rest of life.
When I saw the photograph of that ‘expensive’ retirement room, I was appalled at the space into which we expect our parents to happily eke out life till dead. If we can’t do better than that then it’s a sad indictment on us all.
Developers want to maximise their returns so they squish as many bedrooms as possible into any given space and paint everything with job-lot grey paint. Then they tart it up with mere spin and call it luxury - wank.
This then is the challenge. The motto ‘Living in a bedroom is not a good thing’ defines the objective.
I am an idiot but still reckon I can design a replicable retirement unit into which anyone over forty with partner would love to live. It’s about design, spatial efficiency, character and walking into your space thinking, “I want to be here”. Just because you may need medical support does not change the design brief for this low care facility.
There are lots of us baby boomers who don’t want McMansions but want style within a small space. A space designed for living and, dare I say, entertaining whilst enjoying the company of your equally old cronies.
I see the saleable ‘units’ capable of addressing the needs of people from forty years old and up. Some with cars, some with golf carts and some with walking frames. Indeed, develop the character and I bet any pre-kid age group would be itching to live there as well.
Environmentally friendly, low footprint, cheap, efficient, character, liveable, efficient, inside-outside, accessible, landscaped, low maintenance, light filled, recyclable wastes, catchment water, free power, hi-tech, wall size TV’s, libraries, orthopaedic seating, air conditioning, fold out beds, kitchenette [inside/outside], space utilisation, work - bench, gravel courtyard, garden, trees, water feature, built in vacuum, sauna, outside seating