RESTOQUI: a platform to live at home all your life

Housing is an important part of life that has become increasingly important over the years. For as long as it is possible, most older people want to stay in their own homes, and to do this they must have freedom of movement in their own space. In this sense, adapting the living space of the elderly in terms of accessibility and security is a fundamental issue, because with age almost everyone experiences some loss of mobility and increasing difficulty bending, stretching and weight bearing. The medical realities of ageing – the physical, sensory and cognitive impairments that come to everyone eventually, must not to be ignored. However, we must recognize that many older people are disabled by the design of the environment around them, rather than intrinsically disabled. In this direction, some of these needs can be met by adapting existing homes, but when alteration is not feasible, design can provide products and services able to improve self-sufficiency and independence. There is potential for houses, furnishing and equipment to be much better fitted to the needs of an ageing population and, in addition, there is a wealth of design guidance and expertise available. On this basis Restoqui represents an opportunity to create a platform where customers can find a sort of catalogue of all the possible design solutions to adapt houses to their needs. The research is still at concept level but it deals with the needs of interior specialists, elderly users and their caregivers as well as geriatricians in order to create a virtual container that brings different skills together.