Age segregation: An explorative discussion - manifesto- about the role of architecture as a tool of age integration

Abstract: This thesis takes upon the explorative discussion of the role of architecture as a tool of age integration, which means this is a manifesto appealing to the architectural discourse. The thesis started off with the goal to design a facility that is age inclusive, but after conducting research and discovering different places that work with this concept, my aim has shifted. This aim has been readdressed to the architectural discourse in general, creating a manifesto. We cannot longer only plan age integrated islands in the city, but we have to work with a holistic approach and see the city as one unit, where age integration is always an ingredient in the planning. By introducing the methodology of storytelling, an alternative to the strict theoretical approach is formed. The first part of the thesis consists in an exploration of the themes of age and its societal implications. Taking a closer look at how different architects tried to tackle the thematic and different interviews. The second part establishes a discourse based on the three entities Body, Mind and Space and the relations they create. By introducing different notions and their relations to architecture, a dialogue is created that formulates questions and gives possible answers. The aim is to give different causes for thought related to the own relation to age and ageism and how barriers can be minimised in the future. Age integration should be a present criterion in planning, and we have to consciously add it to architecture.