Architectural design for later life is shaped by imagined user bodies, not always lived realities.

Why It Matters

Understanding how designers conceptualize users is crucial for creating environments that truly support their needs. This research highlights a potential disconnect between the designer's 'imagined user' and the diverse, lived experiences of actual occupants, impacting the functionality and emotional resonance of the built environment.

Key Finding

Architects' designs for care homes are shaped by their mental models of older people, which are a mix of personal ideas and societal views, and are often influenced by the needs of different people involved in the project.

Key Findings

• Architects construct varied and nuanced 'imagined bodies' of older adults during the design process.
• These conceptions are influenced by both empathetic considerations and prevailing societal ideologies about ageing and care.
• The collaborative nature of design, involving multiple stakeholders with competing demands, complicates architects' ability to fully realize user-centred designs.

Research Evidence

Aim: To investigate how architects conceptualize the ageing body when designing residential care homes and the extent to which this impacts user empathy in the design process.

Method: Qualitative research

Procedure: Interviews were conducted with architectural professionals in the UK regarding their design process for residential care homes, focusing on their perceptions and constructions of the bodies of future residents.

Context: Architecture, Residential Care Homes, Gerontology

Design Principle

Design for specific, lived user experiences rather than generalized, imagined user archetypes.

How to Apply

When designing for vulnerable or specific user groups, conduct extensive ethnographic research and co-design workshops to build a deep, empathetic understanding of their diverse needs and contexts.

Limitations

The study focuses on architects' perceptions and may not fully capture the lived experiences of residents or the perspectives of other key stakeholders in the care home development process. The findings are specific to the UK context.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: When designers create buildings for older people, they often imagine what those people will be like, but this imagination can be influenced by general ideas about aging and what others want, which might not match what the actual residents need.

Why This Matters: This research shows that even with good intentions, designers can create products or environments that don't quite fit users because they're designing for an idea of a user, not a real person.

Critical Thinking: To what extent do prevailing societal narratives about specific user groups (e.g., the elderly, children, people with disabilities) inevitably shape a designer's 'imagined user,' and how can designers actively counteract this influence?

IA-Ready Paragraph: This research highlights the critical need for designers to move beyond generalized 'imagined users' and engage deeply with the lived realities of their target demographic. The study by Buse et al. (2016) demonstrates how architects' conceptions of older adults in care home design can be influenced by societal ideologies and stakeholder demands, potentially muting empathetic aspirations. Therefore, robust user research methods are essential to ensure designs are truly user-centred and responsive to diverse needs.

Project Tips

• When researching your target user, go beyond assumptions and explore their actual daily lives and challenges.
• Consider how different stakeholders (e.g., clients, manufacturers, end-users) might have different ideas about the 'ideal' user and how to balance these.

How to Use in IA

• Use this research to justify the importance of in-depth user research and empathy mapping in your design project, especially when designing for specific demographics.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the difference between designing for an 'imagined user' and designing for a 'real user' based on thorough research.

Independent Variable: Architects' conceptualizations of the ageing body and the influence of stakeholder demands.

Dependent Variable: The extent to which architects engage empathetically with users in the design of residential care homes.

Controlled Variables: Type of building (residential care homes), professional background of interviewees (architects).

Strengths

• Provides a sociological lens on the design process, revealing underlying assumptions.
• Explores the complex interplay between individual designer perceptions and broader societal/market forces.

Critical Questions

• How can design education better equip future designers to critically examine and challenge their own 'imagined users'?
• What are the ethical implications of designing for an 'imagined body' that may not reflect the diversity of actual users?

Extended Essay Application

• An Extended Essay could investigate how 'imagined user' concepts manifest in the design of assistive technologies for a specific disability, comparing designers' assumptions with user feedback.

Source

Imagined bodies: architects and their constructions of later life · Ageing and Society · 2016 · 10.1017/s0144686x16000362