Riding the Silver Tsunami: Mass Customized Housing for an Aging Population

by John Brown

This presentation proposes a new housing option for 21st century seniors. Future Adaptive Building (FAB) is an interior system of design, construction, and inhabitation that adapts to meet changes in lifestyle, physical health, and cognitive health. Future Adaptive Building comprises three tightly integrated systems that help older individuals live well, and independently, for an extended period of time.
FABmodular is a system of prefabricated, modular cabinetry components that replaces fixed interior site built walls typically used in residential construction. The adaptability of the FABmodular interior means that lifestyle changes, including, for example, the resizing or relocating of the primary bedroom, or adding quarters for a live-in caregiver, can be completed quickly and for very little cost.
FABstudio is a web-based information and communication platform that helps older individuals maintain a sense of agency and control over the design and operation of their homes. FABstudio enables residents to continuously adapt the design the layout of their home and fine tune the smart home control, monitoring and sensing systems to their exact needs.
FAB+ is a series of specialized medical modules and safety systems that can be unobtrusively integrated into the interior to provide physical and cognitive support as well as individually tailored levels of home care, including physical therapy, chronic disease management, and palliative care.
Change is the only constant in life, and, as we enter old age, the degree of this change becomes increasingly profound, the rate more rapid, and the direction less predictable. The mass customization of FAB allows each house to dynamically adjust to these unique and ever-evolving needs.

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