KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Living space designed to meet the needs of America’s growing elderly population will be the subject of a symposium Oct. 17 in Nashville.
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville College of Architecture and Planning will host the meeting.
The symposium is the third in an annual series focusing on high growth design markets. Previous sessions targeted healthcare and educational facilities.
Marleen Davis, UT dean of architecture, said accommodating the different lifestyles of the elderly poses special design problems.
“The elderly can range from the very active to the very frail,” Davis said. “Others may occasionally need special care but live independently most of the time.”
Guest speakers will offer a wide range of design solutions, Davis said. One speaker, Victor Regnier, former dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California, has studied developments for the elderly in Europe.
“Developments there reflect a desire to integrate the elderly into downtown situations and into communities,” Davis said. “The dominant model in this country now is a type of campus, which can be isolating.”
Other speakers will include Ila Burdette, partner in the architectural firm of Nix, Mann, Perkins and Will, Atlanta, Ga.; David McDowell, first vice president, Greystone Communities, Inc., Irving, Texas, and Clayton McWhorter, former president of Hospital Corporation of America and founder of Clayton Associates, Nashville.
Earl Swenson and Associates of Nashville is helping underwrite the cost of the symposium.
Registration information is from UT Conferences 423-974-0264.
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