Living “Heterotopias”: The Gojikara Mura© Settings

People are living longer and being old is becoming the norm. However, becoming old with the potential of acquiring a long-term condition such as dementia is increasing. Growing old coupled with an increased risk of being ‘ill’ is seen at a societal level as an ever growing demand for high dependency and high cost services. This societal viewpoint has started to conceptualise the aging population phenomenon as an impending social and economic burden. To challenge this conceptualisation and also at a personal level reduced the propensity to stigmatise older adults with long-term health conditions there is a necessity for change. At a wider level this change should incorporate the adoption of an inclusive care system which focuses on the older adult’s mental and physical well-being. Architecturally this type of change requires a shift in the way care provision is designed. An exemplar of this type of approach is the Gojikara Mura setting in Nagakute (Japan). This multigenerational community provides a diversity of services such as nursing homes, adult day-care, assisted living, nursery school and child day-care. These services not only accommodate older adult but also their families and visitors. The analysis of this approach based on a one-time post-occupancy evaluation framework; the ‘thinking, making and living’ method reveals the urban typology of this setting as an ‘open system’. Particular to this open system is its ability to generate ‘heterotopias’ where diversity is the main medium for the production of the system’s relationships and interactions. In addition, new patterns of care are being generated through the participatory and seamless collaboration of residents, their families, volunteers, and healthcare providers. Consequently, this open system setting is facilitating new design and care models to emerge which are having the effect of normalise ageing while at the same time reducing personal and social stigma.